Sleeping With Ghosts
by psychegloom
Summary: A passion. An obsession. A love that destroyed everyone it touched. Full summary inside.
1. Sleeping with Ghosts

A/N: I had to get this off my chest, try it, you might be pleasantly surprised. SBK will be the next updated, I can't promise anything, but I will tell you I'm already working on it.

This is one of my personl favorites, it was inspired by **Wuthering Heights, Place: Blind, Placebo: Sleeping With Ghosts (hence the title)**

**SUMMARY**

Ichigo is a nobleman, the grandson of King Yamamoto. He's very promiscuous, a careless womanizer. When his uncle Kaien dies in a freak accident with his wife Miyako, he is made count of Rukongai.

Rukia is a serf, and an orphan living with an old woman, both live in Kaien's land.

On the eve of the last day of Kaien's wakening, Ichigo and Rukia meet, and their story begins...

Nineteen years later, Mizuki, Rukia's daughter, leaves for the Kurosaki castle in hopes of finding out more about her mysterious dead parents. What she doesn't know, is that she has stumbled into a labyrinth of lies, secrets, betrayal...and will become yet another victim of a love that is so strong it has destroyed entire kingdoms.

* * *

"_Soulmate dry your eyes, soulmates never die…"_

_.........._

"My lord, we've found her," came the proud reply of his second general, Satoru Yasutora. The young general stood in front of his lord with great pride, after fifteen years of searching, the girl was found in Venice. They were in the conference room, his lord sitting on his throne with an unreadable expression on his face..

His lord, now in his forties, held the countenance of an evil, jaded, man; his cold unfeeling character had frightened away both enemies and friends alike. And now he was alone, residing within cold walls of stone, impenetrable fortresses that protected him from all. Ichigo Kurosaki was a powerful, dangerous man; his past a mystery to most. There were many theories about what caused a once seemingly harmless nobleman to change his promiscuous ways to turn to war, and invade, but none had yet been confirmed to be true.

Ichigo's jaw tightened, a light that almost appeared foreign to him bringing life to his cold unfeeling gaze. His mouth relaxed, and his lips parted slightly in surprise. A powerful mouth, with a firm jaw, lips perfectly shaped…a single command from those lips could bring down kingdoms…could bring about the slaughter of thousands. No other man in the world had a voice like Ichigo Kurosaki's, it was a deep baritone that was equally enticing and horrifying.

"You've found her," said his lord, his look impassive, it took several seconds for the information to sink in, and his eyes which had for years been devoid of life, filled with a warmth that Satoru himself had never seen, "you've found her."

"Yes."

"Where was she?"

"Venice."

"Where is she now?"

"She is in the quarters we have prepared for her, just as you ordered."

"How much have you told her?"

"Nothing, the girl was curious about her past, she wanted to know about her parents…she knows nothing about them, when we offered to let her know about her past if she came with us, she came more than willingly."

"I see," said Ichigo thoughtfully.

"Are you going to tell her the truth?" Came a voice from behind the back room; it was Sado Yasutora.

"I don't need to go into details," said Ichigo; he waved his hand to his second general, Sado's son, and the young man left the two older men alone.

"She will want to know, and not just about her mother, but her father."

"Her father is rotting in hell! I made sure of that, and she will never know of him," said Ichigo furiously; his face turned red with anger, but slowly his calm returned to him. The room was quiet again, his first general had no words of response to him, and Ichigo was too deep in thought to continue on to say anything else.

The silence was broken when the sharp clicking of shoes entered the room; Ichigo's expression turned cold again as his wife walked inside. She paced around watching the two men closely, then her drunken gaze directed at Ichigo as she ran one index finger over Sado's jaw line. Sado stepped away from her but Orihime grabbed him by the chin and kept him in place; she kissed him on the lips briefly before turning away from him and towards her husband.

"It doesn't matter Chad, he won't hold anything against you, it's impossible to make him jealous, he'd thank you for taking me off his hands actually," she said bitterly; she walked over to Ichigo and played with his hair; he pushed her hand away.

"There was a girl in that shrine-of-a-place in the west wing. Don't tell me you've found her, is that really her? What are you going to tell her? That you and her mother were sweethearts?" Asked Orihime bursting into an eerie laughter as she walked away from him again, "are you going to tell her that she loved you? Rukia never loved you! There is nothing you can do to change that! You're a crazy man Ichigo! Crazy!" Orihime burst into laughter again, she was laughing so hard that she had to hold her sides; a moment later two women walked in the room and grabbed hold of her, slowly pulling her away from Lord Kurosaki.

"What is she doing here?!"

"Forgive us Lord Kurosaki, we didn't see her leave the room," said the eldest of the two, an old woman who seemed to be in her early fifties.

"Let go of me! I'm not crazy! I'm not crazy!" Burst out Orihime crying, but her screams were ignored by the people around her, and she was dragged out of the room kicking and screaming.

"What about Orihime?" Asked Sado looking over at Ichigo.

"What about her? She has no say in this, what she thinks about this doesn't matter, it never has, it never will."

"And your son?"

"Ichiro knows not to meddle in my affairs. He would never raise his voice against me…he will not object."

* * *

Mizuki stood in front of the strange painting that hung on one of the walls of the large eerie room. It was the painting of a woman, the woman was beautiful, her long locks were as black as night, her skin pale like the moonlight, and her eyes a mix between purple and blue, like the top two layers of the sky during dawn. She appeared ethereal, her eyes somehow…haunting.

Mizuki was distracted by a knocking; she walked over to the door and opened it. It was the same young maid that had welcomed her into her room earlier.

"Miss Mizuki, Lord Kurosaki has requested that you dine with him tonight."

"But, what will I wear?" Asked Mizuki somewhat nervous.

"Oh, no problem, Lord Kurosaki has kept this room well in stock, he had the dresses in the wardrobe updated two years ago, he figured you had grown since the last dresses had been placed there."

"He-he did that?" Asked Mizuki surprised, she never would have expected lord Kurosaki to do something like that for anyone, especially her. Why would anyone do anything like that? From what the maid had told her since her arrival here, it sounded as if he had been waiting for her all this time…this was frightening to her, his actions crossed beyond the line of concern and transcended into something akin to obsessive.

"Yes, he has been very dedicated to updating everything in this room," said the maid looking around the room and smiling.

"Well, tell him I will join him for dinner, I have many questions to ask him."

"Yes, understood, I will come before sunset to help you get dressed."

"It's okay, don't let me bother you, I can do that on my own," said Mizuki scratching the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Well it's not a bother at all it's my-"

"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to this, all of this," said Mizuki looking around the vast room, "I'm used to dressing myself, it would be strange to have someone assist me."

"Oh, all right then, understood," smiled the maid, "be ready by sunset," then she walked out of the room.

Mizuki walked over to the large canopy bed and allowed herself to fall back on it. She stretched her arms as she sighed.

"This place is huge! And the people are so nice, why wouldn't uncle Renji let me come here?" She said to herself. Silence settled inside the room, and Mizuki found her mind wandering to the reason she had come here on the first place.

She was curious to know her history, her past, the name of her mother, and father. She knew no other life outside of the Urahara shop in Venice, not that she was complaining, there wasn't a dull day there. People came and went from the shop, people from all over the world, she learned new things every day, met different people, but just as people came, they left, left home, home, something she didn't quite feel she had yet.

She had asked about her parents, countless times, but uncle Renji refused to reveal anything about them, even their names, saying her parents' past was a dark one, one that was better off left hidden…and he didn't want their past coming to find Mizuki too. But how could he ask that of her? Ask her to forget, to give up, let go? She felt incomplete, she would not rest until she knew about them, because ultimately, she was a part of them, just as they were a part of her. A piece of her was missing; it was only expected for her to try and find it, to come full circle, and fill the void that had been in her since the warmth of her mother's arms…the presence of the woman that created her, disappeared forever from her life.

Mizuki sighed and walked over to the mirror. She was wearing a simple dress, nothing too elegant, but a nice dress for a girl with a descent home and acceptable social status. The top half of her black hair was tied in a ponytail while the bottom half fell loosely down to her waist. Her large eyes so filled with energy and life were a little puffy from the lack of sleep during their trip here. She had been told a lot of times that she looked very much like her parents, she had her mother's features, but her father's eye color and built. She was taller, or so they said, her mother, aunt Ururu described, as the most delicate beautiful creature she had ever perceived, she was small, much shorter than Mizuki herself, but exuded as much confidence as a powerful man. The bits and pieces she knew of her parents she learned from aunt Ururu herself, since no one else would tell her anything. Her father, she said, was a very handsome man, dark, brooding, and incredibly intelligent. He was a talented writer, though no one but her mother knew about it, something she found out about later on in their marriage. From what she'd heard of him, they were fascinating individuals, what she wouldn't give to have known them…

Mizuki sighed, and stood off the bed, she paced around the room again, it was large, luxurious, oh so lovely, the sounds of the ocean could be clearly heard, and the ocean itself could be observed through the balcony. It was beautiful, decorated in shades of violet and blue. The curtains behind the balcony doors were blue like the sky, and fluttered as the ocean breeze made its way into the room. Mizuki shuddered, the wind chilling her. It was such a beautiful, but…lonely place. The walls and furniture appeared to be weeping, having had stood still in time for so long. The furniture did not creek, having lain unperturbed for more than a decade, there was no sound, holding all it had witnessed in secrecy, leaving the lonely ocean alone to tell its tale.

The chilling breeze guided her towards the painting, where all its force seemed to be focused. The painting of the woman in blue, the woman with the haunting eyes…who was she? She must have been someone very important for Lord Kurosaki to keep such a large painting of her, it was painted with intricate detail, and was practically life-sized, had this been her bedroom?

"_Mizuki…"_

"What?!" Mizuki turned around frightened, her heart beating fast in her chest. The curtains over the balcony doors fluttered harder.

"_Mizuki…" _it was the voice of a woman, a woman that sounded like she was crying.

"Who's there?!" The curtains stopped fluttering suddenly and the room grew colder. Mizuki instinctively took two steps back as a strange coldness began to move towards her, chilling her to the bone. Whatever it was, was now standing right in front of her, she could not see it, but she could feel it, and hear it, the sound of howling wind was right before her, even though there was no longer any wind coming through the window.

She sighed when it appeared to be gone, but then wanted to scream when she felt the cold presence right next to her, touching her cheek. She wanted to scream, but could not, she was petrified with fear, shaking as the presence circled around her, settling itself right behind her.

"_Leave Mizuki…run…" _the whisper was clear as day, and came from right behind her, then the presence disintegrated, leaving an air of peace in the room again.

As quickly as she could, Mizuki turned around the see if the culprit was still there, but instead was met with the large painting of the woman, her eyes, her haunting eyes staring right back into hers.

She ran out of the room as quickly as she could, down the hall, out of the west wing and into the east. She ran all the way to the end of the hall, there was a balcony there, and she rested her hands on the ledge trying to calm her beating heart. There was a rose garden below, and the sweet smell of the red and white flowers seemed to calm her. She walked back inside the castle, and found a beautiful woman standing there, staring at her. She was not frightened of her, she could tell she was part of the living. She could tell by the way the woman regarded her, that she did not like her. She looked at Mizuki's disheveled form, and smirked.

"You've seen her haven't you? It wouldn't surprise me, everyone else has, in one form or another."

"What was that?" Asked Mizuki still a little out of breath.

"That? A sick, disgusting, wretched thing, it can't seem to leave us in peace, even after all these years," said Orihime regarding her closely, "pay no attention to it, I'll tell my husband to move you to the east wing, I can't imagine why he put you over there, no one ever goes in the west wing, only the servants from time to time, to clean it, I'm Orihime by the way, I'm Lord Kurosaki's wife."

"Oh, forgive me, I'm Mizuki, Mizuki Abarai," said Mizuki bowing.

"Abarai? You are Renji Abarai's daughter?" Asked Orihime surprised.

"Oh, uncle Renji gave me his last name, he and aunt Ururu adopted me."

"And your parents?"

"I…I don't know them, they died when I was a baby."

"What were their names?"

"I…I don't know their names," said Mizuki a little embarrassed.

"Oh, you poor thing, it must be horrible not to know ones own parents, not even their names."

"Well, that's why I'm here, Lord Kurosaki knew my parents, he's going to tell me about them. And you lady-Kurosaki, did you know them?"

"Why child, why on earth would you think I might? As Lord Kurosaki's wife, I am a busy woman with a long list of contacts, how would you expect me to remember people like…your mother and father?" Mizuki didn't miss the derogatory tone in her voice, but paid not attention to it.

"You're right lady-Kurosaki, forgive me if I have troubled you," said Mizuki bowing again.

"It's all right sweetie, come, let's get a servant to bring your things to the room next to mine, you'll be more comfortable there," said Orihime taking her hand and walking down the hall.

* * *

It seemed lady Orihime was right, she was much more comfortable in this room. It was smaller, and less luxurious, but cozy and beautiful. The contrast between the west and east wings was amazing, the east was warm and lively, the sun illuminated the halls casting a golden glow on it. The west wing was luxurious and beautiful, but cold, the halls were dark, and there was a sadness to it that made Mizuki's heart feel heavy.

Mizuki looked at herself in the mirror once more, before walking out the door of her room. She was going to dine with Lord Kurosaki, she had not met him yet, and was a little nervous. Would he be kind and understanding with her, or would he be as cold and ruthless as people described him?

She walked into the dining room to find Lord Kurosaki waiting for her by himself. He looked at her with a smile, but that smile faded once he looked her over more carefully. She had to admit, Lord Kurosaki was very handsome for his age, and he looked very young. She bowed silently, then sat across the table from him.

"Good evening lord Kurosaki," she said.

"Good evening." Their dinner went by very silently, it was unnerving to her, she could feel his eyes scanning over her, examining her features. Once they were finished eating, he stared back at her, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Now then, the reason you came, you want to know about your mother do you not?"

"Yes, and my father," at the mention of her father, he frowned.

"What…" Mizuki calmed herself, there were so many things she wanted to ask him, but she had to take it slow.

"What was my mother's name?"

"Rukia."

"Rukia," said Mizuki with a smile on her face, liking the way it sounded, "what was she like? How do you know her?"

"Your mother, was the most beautiful creature I have ever seen, large violet eyes…so deep…" he seemed thoughtful suddenly, "I met her many years ago, when we were both nineteen, she was…everything to me…"

"Were you and my mother…?"

"Lovers? Yes," he said looking at her, his eyes mischievous, she felt awkward all of a sudden.

"What about my…my father?" Ichigo's smile faded again, and for a reason she knew not, turned to look away from her.

"Well I'll tell you this, you look more like him than I hoped you would. You, hardly look like Rukia," he said almost accusingly.

"Oh," was all she could say, and took a nervous sip of her wine, was she supposed to apologize about it?

"But, you are Rukia's daughter nonetheless, and you're welcomed in my home," he said with a smile, and gulped down the wine in his glass in one drink. He looked bitter, she noticed, and did not feel so comfortable being here anymore.

"Is there…anything else you can tell me about my parents? Who were they? Why doesn't uncle Renji want to talk to me about them?" She asked a meekly.

"Uncle Renji? You've been living with Renji all this time?" He asked surprised, and she nodded.

"Heh, that Renji is a coward, he should have faced me like a man, he didn't even come for her body after it happened."

"Her body? You know where my mother's grave is? She died here?"

"Yes, she died giving birth to you."

"Giving birth…to me?" She asked, guilt beginning to seep through her veins. Her mother was dead because of her.

"Yes, she died three days after you were born, lost too much blood."

"Why wasn't father with her?"

"Because, your father was already dead," said Ichigo looking at her with an evil glint, and a smile.

"H-how did he-"

"Lord Kurosaki, we have breached Kuchiki territory from the west," said General Satoru walking into the dining room; when he saw Mizuki there he immediately bowed and apologized.

"Well, these are unexpected news, but good news nonetheless, Mizuki, I'm afraid we'll have to finish this conversation another time, stay here, I'll be returning in a week," he said, then he and his General left.

* * *

After she finished eating, Mizuki found herself wandering the west hall again. She was not too sure what brought her here, curiosity perhaps. Her steps brought her to the room originally assigned to her again, in front of the painting. She looked up at the woman, and after having looked at it so long in one day, realized something, this woman, the woman in this painting…was her mother. Was that her mother that spoke to her earlier? The strange entity? She lifted her hand, and placed it over the painting.

"Mother," she whispered. She heard voices outside, and noticed it was Lord Kurosaki, he was walking back inside the manor. Mizuki picked her dress from the sides, and left the room as soon quickly as she could.

* * *

Ichigo reached the bedroom at the end of the west hall, Rukia's old room, and walked inside. He stood in front of the painting for a while, then grabbed the edge of it and turned it to the side the way he would a door, on the wall, there was a door, and he opened it, the room was pitch black, he did not go inside, just stood by the doorway.

"Rukia," he said, then he paused, finding the right words to say, "I found her, I know you didn't want me to…but I did. Now she's going to be with me forever…because you couldn't…because you wouldn't," he said correcting himself as he laughed bitterly.

"It didn't have to be this way…we would have been so good together, we could have found a way to make it work," he said, a strong pain shot through his head, and he clutched his head with his hands, trying to block out the white noise.

"Oh god!" He cried falling to his knees, sobbing like a child, "why couldn't you love me enough?"

"_I will never forgive what you did to me…"_

"For the love of god Rukia we loved each other!"

"_What good is love…what good's religion…when it's each other we despise…"_

_

* * *

_

_A/N: So what d'ya think?_


	2. Beginning of the End

**A/N:** Gawd I love writing this story, I realize it might take a while for people to get into it too, but I swear it will be INTENSE.

* * *

_"'And I pray one prayer--I repeat it till my tongue stiffens--Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you--haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always--take any form--drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!" - Heathcliff, __Wuthering Heights_

* * *

Her tears, her cries of despair, echoed loudly in the walls of his mind, the walls of his manor…Rukia, thoughts of her brought back many memories, memories that made him bitter, and left him shaking with rage, left him sobbing like a child. Thinking of her could make him smile, cry, fill him with anger…with lust.

She was the only one for whom he had ever fallen on his knees, the only one to see him beg with his heart in his hand. He remember all too clearly that instance, for she had laughed at him, taken his heart, and stomped on it. Just as he had done to her years earlier. She had changed so much…since he'd broken her, the once sweet insecure peasant girl was now a cold conniving vixen who had confidence to spare.

…it was strange to him then, that over the years that hey had not seen each other, their personalities and hearts had taken a similar turn. Just as she had once complimented his personality as a young man, now she complimented his personality as an adult.

Ichigo laughed bitterly as he took a drink of his whisky. What they had when they first met each other was beautiful, innocent, what they had years later was passionate, intense, they were both already married, but it did not stop them from having more than a handful of late night rendezvous. He became drunk with pleasure from her body, the fullness that seemed to only be achieved once he'd had her. Like before, she became his obsession…like before…he became her cell, he was imprisoning her, and even though it wasn't literally like before, she felt captured, she could not break away from him, she could not leave him, and he knew this.

Ichigo stood up on unsteady legs, he was in his tent, and had been drinking to his victory. Though after the first couple of drinks, his victory seemed to have lost importance, his revenge seemed meaningless, considering that no matter what he did, he would never have her. He could stain himself to the forehead with the blood of men, but that would never change the fact that she hated him with her last breath. It wouldn't change the fact that her last words to him were "_Kurosaki you bastard, I hope you find resolution in life, because I don't want to have to see you in hell…I think I'd like to burn there for eternity…hell without you, to me, would be an eternity of heaven_."

"Rukia…you fucking bitch," smirked Ichigo to himself as he took the bottle of whisky and gulped the remaining liquor in one gulp, "you fucking evil witch!"

He threw the bottle to the floor, it shattered into pieces in front of him. He kneeled on the floor, grasped a handful of the broken glass, and crushed it in his hands. He looked at the blood beginning to drip from his hand, he winced, but did not stop, once he could not take the pain anymore, he threw the glass back on the floor, and pulled out the remaining pieces that had stuck deep in his palm.

"You bewitched me…look what you've done to me, I'm a fucking mess," he said falling to his knees. He was fucking crazy, and he knew it. Ever since it happened…his mind seemed to wander to the past. Sometimes he would spend hours, at times a whole day reminiscing about the past. It worried his followers, there were times when they didn't know how to bring him back. Orihime slapped him once, and it worked, this was how Ichigo figured out how to keep himself in the present. He would allow himself to remember, but when the thinking got too deep, he would inflict pain on himself, he started off by slapping himself on the face…but with time that would no longer do. His back and chest held the marks…the proof of his lack of sanity, there were deep lacerations, now he hand new scars to show, the ones in his hand.

Tired, he fell facing down on the floor, his hand moved to the space next to his head, where it caressed an imaginary face. He gazed at imaginary eyes, and his lips grazed against imaginary lips. He knew of course, he knew that in reality he was caressing the mossy forest floor, gazing at dirt, and his lips could have been brushing against fungus for all he knew…but it was better to pretend, imagine. The reason his mind lingered in the past, was because it preferred the past, in the past their love had hopes of being eternal, in the past they could have made it work, in the past there was hope…and he could take a breath of peace…the past was far from being this cruel reality…

* * *

**Turning The Pendulum:**

**19 Years In the Past**

"There, all done," sighed Rukia wiping her brow with the back of her hand, she slapped the baby sheep in the rear and finished putting the wool in a sack. It was a sunny day in Rukongai, so sunny that half of the sheep were beginning to dehydrate. She did all that was necessary to keep the sheep as cool as possible, carrying numerous buckets of water from the nearby river to keep them hydrated, and even shaving off their wool.

Rukia lived with an old woman by the name of Kana, they had no blood relation, but she viewed the old woman as her grandmother. She had been raised here since she was very little, when her parents died, she had no memory of them, and oddly enough, it didn't bother her that she hardly knew anything about them. She was happy here, with Kana, living peacefully as a serf in lord Kaien's lands. She loved Rukongai, to her it was heaven on earth, Kana laughed when she told her this, but Rukia herself didn't feel like she was exaggerating.

Lord Kaien was very lucky, Rukongai had everything a landlord could ask for, rivers, lakes, a forest, prairies, and plenty of room farming. The serfs living here were very happy, more than any of the serfs that she'd met from other kingdoms. They had a lot of food, water, and room for some extra commodities. Lord Kaien was a reasonable man, he did not overwork his serfs, giving them good hours and breaks, he would allow sick serfs to stay home until they were feeling better, and he even helped organize events in the serf community. Rukia and Kana helped him organize these events, Kana was the village healer, and as such was held in high regard. Kaien allowed Kana and Rukia to have their own little home next to the forest and very close to the lake, so that Kana could have easier access to any herbs she would need.

"Lord Kaien," sighed Rukia as she lied back on the grass and looked up at the blue sky. She was so lucky to have him, not only was he her master, but her friend. He taught her some swordsman skills, and even instructed her in the ways of Kido, the art of magic.

Rukia didn't know much of the world outside her, but Lord Kaien taught her to read, he would bring her books, and she had learned much about the outside world through reading. She knew magic was common in their society, for healing and fighting…though usually the nobles were the only ones instructed in the ways of Kido. Kana had been an exception, since she came from a family line of healers. Rukia herself had become very good in the art of fighting Kido, or so Lord Kaien said. He had asked Rukia no to tell Kana about it though, it was their secret, she would sneak out at times during the night, and practice Kido with him, though lately she had not, since Lord Kaien had left on a trip with his wife, Lady Miyako.

Rukia couldn't help but feel jealousy at the thought of Lady Miyako. She admired her lady, she was a beautiful, intelligent, and generous woman, who was more than deserving of Lord Kaien. Rukia was eight when Lord Kaien was married, she had had a crush on him then…and even now, thinking of him brought butterflies to her stomach.

"Stop it Rukia, you shouldn't be thinking of Lord Kaien that way," said Rukia to herself annoyed. She stood off the ground and grabbed the sacks of wool. She was dirty and sweaty, and dying for a bath.

* * *

"That is just horrible, two deaths…one of them a suicide," said Kana to herself, quite a bit in shock.

"Yes, not the best way to go at all," said a man in his early forties, sitting by the table in front of her.

"Lord Kurosaki, you have my condolences, I know Lord Kaien was your younger brother, and very close to you…do your other siblings know?"

"No, I don't need to tell them though, they won't come."

"Yes, but, Lord Kurosaki, their brother just died, how could they…"

"You can call me Isshin, I'm sorry we have to meet under these circumstances, you would have realized my personality is very different then," laughed Isshin to himself, "perhaps I'd make you laugh…my siblings would not come, you can take my word on that."

"Well this is a tragedy indeed, in every way, to think that none of the serfs found out about this earlier," said Kana surprised.

"The servants were forbidden from leaving the castle, you would understand how we didn't want to cause an up rise, since Kaien left no heirs, and the serfs and servants would be having quite a field day making themselves worried over the uncertainty of their next ruler."

"That is understandable, Lord Kaien was such a noble man, his kindness might be seen as unusual to some, of course the serfs wouldn't expect our next ruler to be as lenient," said Kana.

"I trust my son will rule with a hand as lenient as Kaien's, Kaien was very close to my boy, I assume that is why he left everything to him in his will, second to his wife of course…but since Miyako is gone as well…I…I hope you come to like my son Lady Kana, he's a bit hot headed, but he is a good boy," said Isshin taking a sip of his tea.

"If he's related to you and Lord Kaien, I am sure he is…you know…I am very worried for my little Rukia, she was very close to Lord Kaien, I don't know how I will break it to her," said Kana examining the green tea in her cup, deep in thought.

Some minutes later, a tired, sweaty Rukia walked in through the door, she wiped her sweaty brow, then looked embarrassed when she saw they had a guest. She immediately sank to the floor and bowed in respect.

"I am sorry, I did not realize we had a guest," said Rukia; Isshin laughed.

"Don't worry, no formalities are necessary with me," said Isshin; Rukia raised her head confused. Those eyes, at the sight of them Isshin's smile faded…those eyes…where had he seen them before?

"Are you finished with your chores?" Asked Kana.

"Yes, I'm done for the day, I was about to clean myself up actually," said Rukia looking down at her dirty dress.

"Don't let us stop you then," smiled Isshin.

"You are excused Rukia," said Kana; Rukia took a small bow, and left.

"That girl, who is she?" Asked Isshin curiously.

"She is my granddaughter."

"Biological?"

"It's as if she were, I've raised her since she was very little."

"An her real parents?"

"I wouldn't know them, I found her abandoned in the forest, next to the highway," said Kana taking a sip of her tea again.

* * *

Rukia practically ran towards the lake, she was so dirty, and her muscles were aching, her body was screaming to be bathed. As soon as she made it to the lake, she removed all of her clothes, except for her light brown dress slip, and jumped in the lake. She swam all the way to the bottom, where she found a bottle stuck in between a couple of stones, and pulled it out. She swam back to the surface, opened the bottle, and poured some of the contents in her head. She scrubbed her hair, then swam back down to the bottom to place the bottle back where it was before.

* * *

Ichigo watched the beautiful creature in the water bathing. The way she swam back and forth in the lake…it was art, her movements were art. Could it be possible she was a nymph? Or a mermaid?

Truth be told, he had no business being here, watching her, but once his eyes landed on her, they refused to look away. It was the third and last day of uncle Kaien's wakening, the castle was filled with cries, gloom…and while Ichigo was very affected by his uncle's death, he was tired of it, of being surrounded by death, despair…it reminded him too much of, her, his mother's death. He had been very young then, but the violent manner in which she had been killed…the guilt, it all plagued him. One would think that the pain would fade with the years, but for him it became stronger, it felt like with every year that passed, she was farther away from them…

That was why he had chosen to leave the castle, he needed a breath of fresh air, a walk to clear his mind, and that was when he ran into her, the ethereal creature swimming in the lake.

* * *

Rukia swirled in the lake some more, loving the way the water felt on her skin, how refreshing it felt on her tired warm flesh. She came back up to the surface, and tossed her head back, her hair flipping back as well. She stayed as she was and looked at the water lilies floating around her. Then she had an idea…she smirked before moving to the center of the lake.

* * *

Ichigo watched curiously as the girl swam to the center of the lake, she chanted an incantation, and a hole was created in the center of the lake, pulling all the water to the center. The girl seemed ecstatic, surprised at what she had done. The smile on the girl's face quickly faded, and she yelped before she too was pulled towards the bottom of the lake.

Immediately, Ichigo removed his boots, and jumped in the lake. He swam to the bottom, and towards the center. He saw the girl being pulled towards the bottom of the lake, and grabbed her by the wrist to pull her back from the current pulling her away.

He closed his eyes, placed his middle and index fingers on his forehead, and mentally recited an incantation. The waters calmed at once, and he was able to swim to the shore with the girl. He got out at the lake, then extended his hand to the girl, to help her out. The little creature was having a coughing fit, breathing erratically, her lungs desperate to cough out the water and be filled with air. Once her breathing was in tact, she looked up at him.

Their eyes connected, their hands touched. Ichigo was speechless, it felt like time had stopped around them. Her eyes were purple, freaking purple, who the hell had eyes like that? Not only were they purple, but they held swirls of indigo, it was like looking in the damned night sky. He noticed the girl was in shock for a moment too, he saw himself reflected in her eyes, and he knew that this was a turning point in his life. He had just met her, yes, but her eyes, her eyes which looked so much like the cosmos, held a promise, hidden inside them was the promise of a story, a mystery, an enigma. Like gravity they seemed to pull him to them, beckoning to be gazed at, daring him to decipher their mystery.

"Oh, I'm pardon me, I'm Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki," said Ichigo letting go of her hand and blushing. Blushing? Since when did Ichigo Kurosaki blush?

"I'm Rukia, I'm sorry, I realize what I did was very foolish," she said embarrassed, Ichigo was a little taken aback, he though her voice would be melodious, angelical, but it was strong, deep. He also noticed she was very short, smaller than any other woman he had ever met. Noting these faults on this otherwise perfect creature, helped him get his confidence back, and his arrogance which seemed to have been lost in the waters of the lake, resurfaced.

"You're lucky I was watching you since before it happened. Now then," said Ichigo, his eyes roaming up and down her body, since she was soaked, the beige dress slip clung to her body like a second skin, "maybe you should thank your savior properly."

Slap!

Ichigo was seeing two of everything, who thought the midget held such strength? He turned to look at her, glaring daggers at her, and his face flushed red with rage.

"You fucking midget! How dare you?! Who do you think y-" but before he could say anything else his back hit the floor hard, and he looked up to see an angry little woman on top of him, chocking him.

"Who do you think you're calling a midget!" She yelled at him. She was choking him with two hands, banging his head on the floor.

"Rukia!" Rukia stopped and turned to look and see who it was, it was Kana, and the man she was talking to earlier. She immediately got off of him and they both stood up.

"My son! Haven't I told you not to fight with girls?! You should be making babies with them not wrestling with them!" Said Isshin outraged, "well, unless this wrestling leads to future grandchildren," added Isshin as an afterthought.

"She attacked me," said Ichigo.

"Attacked you?! You were coming on to me!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Rukia, stop this foolishness at once," said Kana frustrated as she rubbed her temples.

"Why? You were the one that told me not to let myself get pushed around by perverted-"

"Because, this young man is our new master," said Kana; Rukia looked at Ichigo confused.

"What?"

"That's right, your new master, now kneel before me and apologize," smirked Ichigo evilly; Rukia merely glared at him and walked away. She didn't know what was going on, but she intended to get some answers from Kana when they were back in their house.


	3. First Seeds

**A/N:** Gosh I hate this, I feel like I'm rushing into this story too quickly...but then again, it will be a long story, and I won't be able to spend too much time on Ichigo's and Rukia's developing relationship, although it will still be a while before they actually acknowledge their feelings for each other...

Anyway, tell me what you think.

* * *

"What do you think Ulquiorra?"

"It is very impressive, Lord Aizen, I look forward to your alliance with the future King of Sereitei," said Ulquiorra, he and King Aizen were standing in the balcony of the third floor of the castle. From there they could see the vastness, and grandness of Rukongai.

"Yes, my nephew Ichigo has come a long way for a boy his age, he is very powerful, once the old man is out of the way, there is no doubt that he will leave the throne to Ichigo, he is his only direct heir, and one of the most powerful nobles," said Aizen. Aizen Sosuke was Ichigo's uncle, Ichigo's mother, Masaki was the daughter of King Yamamoto and the daughter of a beautiful, now deceased princess of Hueco Mundo. Masaki's mother had been the sister of Aizen's father, so he and Masaki were first cousins.

"I foresee a great victory for you, and if my visions are correct, it will be Ichigo Kurosaki who aids you on your quest to greatness," said Ulquiorra.

"It is to be expected, I am his dead mother's cousin, and King of Hueco Mundo, he'll look to me for guidance when he is newly appointed, just as he does now."

"Yes, and his fragile heart and short temper will serve in your favor."

"What ever do you mean my loyal Marquis?"

"The pieces are beginning to fall into place, le jeu d'échecs a commencé…"

"I believe you're right Ulquiorra, today it begins."

* * *

It was a lie, she refused to believe it was true. Kaien couldn't be dead, it was impossible, the last time she saw him he was so strong, so healthy, it couldn't be, it just couldn't be.

Rukia fell to the floor, finally moving after remaining comatose on her bed, since yesterday, when she found out. Kana had avoided looking her in the eye as she told her, her head bent low as she spoke the dreaded words. It took some time for the words to truly sink in, at first, Rukia almost felt like Kana was joking, even though she knew that Kana was a very serious woman. She expected to be told that everything was all right, that Kaien and Lady Miyako were safe. But it was the evening of the following day, and Kana had stood by her word, not showing any signs of telling Rukia that it had all been a horrible mistake.

Rukia blinked a couple of times, she had landed on her knees. She wanted to, but could cry no more, she had not slept, crying the whole night and day, and now her eyes were dry, and even though she wanted to keep on crying, all she could do was sob, because her tears were no more. Her forehead landed on the wooden floor with a thud, and she weakly pounded on the floor with her fists. She had no strength, she hadn't eaten much yesterday, and she hadn't had a bite to eat today, that coupled with the lack of sleep left her very weak.

She stood up on unsteady legs, and as she looked around noticed that Kana was not here. It took Rukia a moment to gather her thoughts together, and realize why she was most likely gone: the burial, Kana had mentioned that yesterday had been the last day of their wakening. Rukia sobbed and covered her mouth with her hands, tears streamed down her cheeks again.

Without putting her shoes on or even bothering to do anything about her disheveled appearance, she dashed out of the cottage, and ran as quickly as her weak legs allowed her to. She passed the mossy forests, and ran towards the meadow, where she was positive they'd be burying them. The rain was pouring and the dark skies coupled with the fact that the sun was beginning to set, made it a very dark evening. There was little visibility, but having lived here for nineteen years, she knew the path by memory.

Her tired feet were scraped by rocks and branches, but she ignored the pain and ran like the devil himself was after her. She made it over the hills, and through the distance, saw the faint outline of two headstones. She broke into tears, into sobs, she wanted to scream, but she forced herself to take a deep breath, and ran as quickly as she could towards the graves.

When she got there, she realized that there was no longer anyone there, the two gravestones rested in solitude, the dirt thrown over them had turned into mud, the people here must have left a long time ago, perhaps because of the rain. Rukia stood there, staring at them, she spotted Kaien's name, walked towards his grave, and fell on her knees, her hands grasping the mud. She rested her body there, lying on the mud of his grave, and buried her face in the wet soil, her restless hands seeking for something to grasp, something to hold on to, but the treacherous mud slipped through her hands.

Rukia sat up and looked down at the mud. She stuck her hands in the mud, bringing the soil up to her face. She grabbed fistfuls of the mud desperately, her anxiety and helplessness growing every time the wretched soil slipped out of her hands. She screamed, punching at the mud desperately, trying to dig a hole through the soil, trying to get closer to him, but the mud was very wet, and only fell back into place.

She screamed again, tears mixing with the rain as her face tilted up towards the sky. Her hands twitched, seeking for something to hold on to, something to keep. Oh god why couldn't she hold on to anything, why were her small hands so useless? So clumsy? Why couldn't they hold on to anything?

Just as Rukia felt her sanity hanging by the last thread, there was something there, something in her hands. Her head was still facing the clouded sky, her eyes shut, but something had changed. Her hands were finally grasping something, something strong, something warm, she grasped the warmth in her hands tightly, afraid it would disappear. Once she was able to take a calm breath, her face tilted back down to level, and she tried to open her eyes to see what it was, but, there was mud on her face, and she couldn't open her eyes.

Large warm hands wiped at her face, and she was stunned with what her violet eyes first perceived upon opening. Large amber eyes, they were large, and warm, filled with sadness, concern, strong thick eyebrows, and black lashes wet with rain…or tears, she couldn't quite tell. They looked at her not with pity, but empathy, reading through her like she was an open book. It took her a moment to register who this person was, when she realized, she bowed her head in apology.

"Forgive me," she managed to choke out, but then cleared her throat and spoke again, loudly so that he would be able to hear her through the rain and thunder, "forgive me master Kurosaki, I know it is not in my place to-" but her voice choked again, and she couldn't speak through her sobs.

"Don't apologize," said Ichigo brushing his hand across her cheek. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, Rukia gasped, surprised at first, but then gave in to the welcoming warmth. She wrapped her arms around him as well, and cried, cried like she hadn't cried since she heard the news, cried like she had never cried before.

* * *

"Kaien was my uncle," said Ichigo in a low voice, watching Rukia as she took a sip of her tea. She and Ichigo were having tea in an abandoned shack close to the meadows, all other buildings were farther away, and they were forced to take refuge there as the rain came pouring down harder.

"I know I could never be a fair replacement for a great man like uncle Kaien, I know that to him his people were everything, he cared about all of you very much."

"Yes, he did, he was a great man," said Rukia, finally speaking; it almost surprised Ichigo to hear her speak. He stared at her for a moment, and feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, she took a sip of her tea.

"Were you close to Lord Kaien?"

"Yeah, I was his only nephew, there's Karin and Yuzu too, my sisters, he spent time with all of us, more so with me, we went hunting and fishing a lot, he was like a second father, and I was like the son he never had," said Ichigo; they both remained silent for a moment, "were you close to him?" Asked Ichigo.

"Well, compared to you, I was nobody to him," she said smiling sadly, "just a serf…but, I considered him many things, my mentor, my friend…" she said sadly, "things are going to change a lot now that he's gone…"

"I'll do everything in my power to keep things as they are, I know he would want me to keep running things the way he -"

"It will never be the same," said Rukia angrily, her teeth slightly grit, "you will never be like lord Kaien, not you, not anyone."

"Don't you think I know that, that doesn't mean I can't try to make things better for my people."

Rukia looked at him furious, she stood up indignantly and threw the small blanket she was wearing to the floor; Ichigo flinched as the cup of tea shook in her hand, he suspected she'd be throwing it at him any second.

"Then stop trying to compare yourself to him! You will never!…never take his place!" she yelled bursting into tears. Ichigo looked at her a little confused, and then he realized something. How did he not see it before?

"Rukia, were you…in love, with uncle Kaien?"

"What?" She asked a little shaken, how could she be so weak and let it show? "Of course not! He-he was my master, my friend, my mentor! Ever since I can remember he's been a part of my life…he was there to watch me grow, instructed me, you have no idea what it's like to lose someone like that! So how could you assume it's something else?!"

"Actually, I do," smirked Ichigo to himself bitterly.

"What was that?"

"Forget it... fine, if you say you didn't love uncle Kaien, then I believe you," said Ichigo; Rukia watched him nervously as she sat back down, wondering if she had been convincing enough. Slowly, but surely, she calmed down, and they both sat in silence. It was a comfortable silence at first, but then the tension in the air grew. She stared at him; he was still wet, his orange hair still plastered a bit to his forehead, there was a blush on his cheeks since it was significantly warm in the shack, and his dark amber eyes were looking at her fiercely.

Rukia felt self-conscious, no one had ever looked at her like that. The intensity of his gaze unsettled her, she grabbed the blanket and wrapped it back around herself, remembering that she was only wearing her dress slip; her dress was soaking wet and had to be removed.

"Not that it's any of your business, you don't even know me, we're strangers, and from what I know of you so far, master Kurosaki, you are not my kind of person," said Rukia.

"Call me Ichigo; aren't you being a little unfair? You hardly know me, not enough to make up your mind about me at least," he said looking at her with a friendly smile on his face, it was strange to see him smile, since he seemed to have a permanent from on his face.

"You're right, I'm sorry. We didn't have the best meeting, and well, with everything that's happened," said Rukia, her mind drifting off to more depressing thoughts again.

"Will you promise to get to know me at least?"

"Are you coming on to me again?" She asked looking at him suspiciously.

"Are you kidding me? I can have any beautiful woman I want, why would I be chasing after a midget like you?"

"Why you-you know what? I don't need this, I'm leaving," said Rukia annoyed as she stood up, she headed towards the door, but a firm hand on her arm prevented her from doing so.

"I'm sorry," Rukia's eyes fell shut as she felt his warm breath in her ear, his lips lingered close to her jaw, but then he pulled away, "I'm sorry, you shouldn't leave, it's pouring out there, I'll take you back in the morning," said Ichigo; Rukia turned around to face him and was surprised to find him so close, their lips merely inches apart.

"I…o-okay," she stuttered; he smiled and pulled away.

"You can use the blanket if you want."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep."

"Okay," she sighed; she found a spot on the floor and lied down to sleep. Her new master could be very annoying, but he sure had a way of keeping her distracted, when she was around him she didn't feel so sad anymore.

* * *

**3 months Later…**

"Hmm hmm you were right this place is ha-ah!" shrieked Rukia as she was startled, she had been shaving the wool off of one of the sheep and humming a song, when Ichigo sneaked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Did I scare you?" He whispered in her ear, then buried his face in the crook of her neck. Rukia fought down a moan. Ichigo had been doing that a lot lately, he would randomly sneak up behind her and take the opportunity to nuzzle her. Perhaps he did it with innocent intentions, but it never failed to put Rukia's heart in overdrive.

"Hmn…Ichigo, stop" she said putting her hand over his head to push him away, but as soon as her palm made contact with his soft mane, her fingers settled there and intertwined themselves in his hair.

"Rukia…" he whispered against her neck; she gasped, it was the first time his lips had ever made contact with any part of her skin, "why do we keep this up?"

"Keep what up?" She managed to gasp out.

"Pretending that nothing's happening…" Her eyes shot open at this, and the movement of her fingers in his hair stopped; Ichigo wrapped his arms tighter around her. A million doubts and emotions set her heart in distress.

"Ichi-"

"Don't, just don't say anything," he said placing a kiss on top of her head.

"You know that-"

"Yeah, I know," he said, then he pulled away from her.

"Ichigo, please don't-" but he ignored her; Rukia watched his expression as he walked away. His shoulders were slouching, and the frown on his face was deeper, which she thought was adorable in a way; he looked so cute when he was angry.

"Hey Ichigo!" She called after him, "you're pathetic! You must be a homo to be so emotional!" She laughed at him; Ichigo was furious, he stomped over to her with his fists clench.

"Who the hell are you calling gay you midget?!"

"I don't know, maybe the fool coming towards me."

Rukia laughed as she watched him, but her laughter faded when she noticed the mischievous expression on his face. Rukia couldn't help but feel pulled to him as she watched his dangerous form prowling towards her, his excellent physique complimented by an unbuttoned black shirt and gray slacks loose at the hips, he looked like a lion on the hunt, and extremely tempting. He quickened his pace, and she realized what was happening.

"As soon as I catch you, I'm dumping you in the pigs pen," he declared smirking; she ran away from him.

"Oh no you don't you'll never catch me!"

Ichigo obviously took that as a challenge, since he started running faster. Rukia snickered to herself, no matter how fast Ichigo ran, she was faster than him. By the time Ichigo was able to catch up, they were both by the lake.

"Fine, I give up, I'm sorry," sighed Rukia raising her arms in the air, then she sat down on the ground; Ichigo sat next to her.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," said Ichigo.

"What?" She said a little taken aback.

"I promised to meet uncle Aizen, I haven't seen him or my uncle Gin since I became Lord of Rukongai."

"Oh. How long will you be gone?"

"About two weeks."

"Two weeks?" She said trying to hide her disappointment, but Ichigo managed to catch it and smiled about it.

"Well, uncle Gin and I get pretty crazy when we're together…" said Ichigo, he really didn't want to elaborate on the activities he and Gin took part in when they went out together.

"I see…"

"Well, we'll get to spend more time together when I come back, we do need to go find the supplies we'll need for the village Spring Festival."

"Yeah, not that I care if we spend time together, I mean it's really none of my business what you do with your time and it's really-none-of-your-business-what-I-do-with-mine," she said rather quickly, she spoke fast when she was nervous.

"Right, well, I should really get going, see you in two weeks midget," said Ichigo standing up and ruffling her hair before walking away.

"I'm not a midget!" She yelled after him when he walked away.

Rukia sighed as she lied back on the grass, things were getting so complicated between her and Ichigo. She didn't know what to make of things, nor how to interpret his body language when he was around her. She was starting to feel things for him, unnecessary things, things that were dangerous…things that a serf should not be feeling for her master. It was different with Kaien, Kaien had been married, and there were no hopes of anything getting anywhere, but with Ichigo…she was straying into dangerous territory with him…

* * *

TELL ME TRUE...does it feel too rushed?


	4. Just Sex

**A/N**: woah, this is my longest chapter so far...I think there will be others this long. I love writing this story^^.

Anyway, there's a LEMON in this chapter, don't let me ruin the surprise, just read on and find out...then let me know what you think.

* * *

**Present**

"Aizen-sama, Ichigo's here," grinned Gin as he walked inside Aizen's study. Aizen was sitting by his desk, apparently waiting to be told that Ichigo was there.

"Good, I was expecting him." There was a slight knock on the door, and then Ichigo walked inside looking even more miserable than he usually did. Aizen would have commented on his state, but he was used to seeing the worst of Ichigo by now.

"Ah, King Kurosaki-"

"Don't call me that," said Ichigo scowling; he took a seat in front of Aizen.

"But that's what you are, you are the mighty King of Sereitei, the warrior King Kurosaki," said Aizen; Ichigo laughed bitterly, and took the bottle of liquor on the table, taking a large gulp of it.

"You don't have to kiss my ass anymore Aizen, we both know what you want from me, and I'm happy to comply, so cutting to the chase…Kuchiki has been taken over."

"I am pleased to hear that, and the girl, have you found her yet?" Asked Aizen thoroughly pleased, rubbing his hands in anticipation.

"Not, yet, but my men have not given up the search," said Ichigo looking down at the floor.

"I'll have you know Kurosaki, this will not work without the girl, the Hogyoku can only be activated by a descendant of Shirayuki," said Aizen looking a little annoyed.

"Yes, I know that Aizen-sama, breaking through Kuchiki was only the first step, now my men will be able to focus entirely on the search for Rukia's daughter."

"I'm curious to see what she will be like," sighed Aizen to himself, "she must be an interesting creature, considering her mother…and her father, you know Kurosaki, I find it so ironic that the girl's father helped build the foundation for what would lead to this, of course, for all his knowledge he never saw it coming…that the chosen one would come from his own loins," Ichigo didn't say anything, but he was fuming with anger, his face was red, and his teeth were gritted.

"Now now Ichigo, it is senseless holding a grudge against a dead man." Ichigo wanted to respond to that, but he shut his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth.

"May I leave now?" He asked after calming himself.

"Yes, your presence is no longer required, I will expect news from you soon…concerning the whereabouts of Rukia's daughter," said Aizen; Ichigo stood up, looked at Aizen and Gin, then walked towards the door.

"Of course," he mumbled before walking out.

On the way to his carriage, Ichigo tried to make sense of what just happened. He didn't tell them about the girl, that he had found her. Why didn't he? The whole purpose of finding her, was to turn her in to Aizen, to achieve immortality and ultimate power through the Hogyoku.

Why did he not turn her in? He knew the girl would not be physically harmed, save for the few drops of blood needed to activate it. She would be given to Aizen to breed with, to keep the bloodline going. She would be safe, powerful, and have anything she could ever desire. So why? Why couldn't he find it in his heart to turn her in?

* * *

**Past**

Ichigo sat quietly in his carriage looking very bored, the trip to Hueco Mundo took three days by carriage, he had finished reading Hamlet, and as much as he enjoyed playing Solitaire, the game became tedious after playing it for three hours.

His mind wandered to the raven-haired beauty he had left behind in Sereitei, he had been thinking about her a lot lately, perhaps too much. Ichigo rubbed his face in frustration, he did not know what to make of it, she was attractive, yes, he had figured as much from their very first meeting, but now, now that attraction seemed to have intensified, and he even came to…enjoy their time together.

Ichigo Kurosaki was not one to spend that much time to get to know and pursue women, sure, he loved women, that was obvious considering his renowned reputation as a womanizer. But he had never gone out of his way to woe a woman. Usually women offered themselves to him, and all he had to do was smile at them, but Rukia…he had spent three fucking months trying to attract her to him and bed her.

Ichigo stopped shuffling his cards when the thought of bedding his little nymph crossed his mind. Sometimes…a lot of the time actually, it felt like that was not what he was trying to do. Yes, he most definitely wanted to sleep with her, but the last three months they'd spent together confused him, a lot of the things they did, in fact, the majority of the things they did were platonic. Ichigo gasped suddenly, realizing that all this time had actually been spent…enjoying her presence?

Ichigo shook his head to clear his thoughts. No, that could not be it, he could not be so weak. He was confused, yes, that had to be it. He was sexually frustrated, he had not had sex for over three months, and the pent up frustration of not having bedded that feisty little minx was getting to him. It was a good thing he decided to come visit his uncles when he did, had he gone another day in Rukongai, he might had gone so far as to admit he was falling for the midget.

Ichigo was interrupted from his musings when he felt the carriage come to a stop. The door of the carriage opened a moment later, and footman placed a stool on the ground so that he would step out of the carriage.

"Ichi-Kun!" Smiled Gin walking over to Ichigo, patting him in the back, and wrapping an arm around his shoulders to lead him in the castle. Gin was wearing his usual long black leather trench coat, and he seemed a little happier than usual.

"Ichi, so nice to finally see ya," said Gin as they walked inside the castle. "I was planning for us to go to a Party later, and find a couple of women to bed…I know ya haven't been in the city in a while though; ya can have a go at the concubines in the mean time if ya like," said Gin; Ichigo considered this for a second but then sighed.

"I'd like to give the concubines a try, but you know I'm not into that," said Ichigo mischievously.

"It's all about the chase," said Ichigo and Gin together grinning evilly.

"I agree, but the concubines are there if ya change your mind," said Gin.

"You're such a nymphomaniac."

"I know," said Gin licking his lips.

Ichigo and Gin made their way to the garden, they sat down by a table, and a beautiful young maid made their way over to them. The girl looked no older than fourteen, and had thick black hair, pale skin, and big beautiful brown eyes.

"Good morning Hinamori-chan," said Gin smiling at her.

"Good morning Ichimaru-sama, would you and your guest like anything for breakfast?" She asked blushing.

"Of course Hinamori-chan, you know my usual, Ichigo do want anything?"

"Uh, some steak and eggs will be fine," said Ichigo.

"Coming right up!" Said Momo brightly, and she sauntered away.

"So what do ya think of Aizen-sama's new toy?" Asked Gin.

"Is she a concubine?"

"No, she's a maid, Aizen-sama does plan on bedding her though, she adores him, and she's such a cute little virgin, honestly, who can resist," said Gin; then he took a sip of water, "so, what does it feel like to finally own your own land?"

"It was very new to me at first, but I'm starting to understand how to run things now."

"So soon, it took me about a year to get it right," said Gin.

"Well, I've had help," said Ichigo, his cute little nymph in mind.

"Ya should invite me over some time, I know Rukongai has great hunting grounds, I've only been there a couple of times, but that large forest…it must be full of different magical creatures."

"It is, I haven't really gone hunting though."

"Why not? Everyone knows ya love a good hunt, remember that huge centaur ya caught once? Are ya getting soft?"

"No, I've just been busy getting everything in order, now that I'm more organized though, we'll plan an event," said Ichigo.

"Of course, the summer would be perfect don't ya think?"

"Yeah, it would."

"So what have ya been up to Ichigo?"

"Well, I've been organizing an event for the serfs, a Spring festival."

"Hmn…for the serfs? How strange, ya should invite me, who knows, it could be fun."

"You're invited if you want to come, I'm warning you it's nothing extravagant like you're used to."

"Gotcha."

"Ichigo, what a surprise," said Aizen as he joined them by the table.

"Aizen-sama," said Ichigo standing up and bowing slightly; then he sat back down, "Sorry I couldn't visit earlier, I've been busy getting everything in order."

"It's good that you are preparing yourself, you'll need the experience when Yamamoto passes Sereitei to you."

"Well, that remains to be seen Aizen-sama, gramps is still alive and healthy, and there are so many others that could be given the throne," said Ichigo rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Yes, but you are the only worthy one."

"Thank you Aizen-sama," said Ichigo blushing a little. Small steps were heard heading towards them, and the men turned to see little Momo Hinamori walking towards the table with a large tray in her hands. She served Ichigo and Gin their breakfasts and then turned to look at Aizen.

"Forgive me Aizen-sama, I did not realize you would be joining Ichimaru and Kurosaki-sama for breakfast, is there anything I can get for you?" She said very red in the face and avoiding Aizen's eyes, Aizen smirked at the girl's nervousness.

"It's all right Momo, a coffee will do," smiled Aizen.

"Okay then, I'll be right back," said Momo sauntering away; Ichigo didn't miss the look on Aizen's eyes as they followed every swing of the young girl's hips.

"So," sighed Aizen looking back at the two younger men, "Gin, have you told Ichigo yet?"

"Told me what?" Asked Ichigo curiously.

"I'm holding Orihime's coming out party in May."

"Inoue-san? She was nine the last time I saw her…she must be fifteen now, you're sure you want to introduce her to suitors at such a young age? And Sora is okay with it?" Asked Ichigo surprised.

Orihime Inoue was King Sozuke Aizen's little sister, and the youngest of all of Aizen's father's children. In total, Sano Aizen, sired four children, none of which were produced by a legitimate wife. Aizen was the oldest, he was currently thirty, his mother had been a powerful sorceress who worked for King Sano. Gin was twenty-four, his mother had been a teenage peasant girl that Sano became infatuated with and raped, because of this, King Sano didn't recognize Gin as his son until Gin's mother died when he was nine years old. The next in line was Sora, Sora was twenty-one, his mother was one of King Sano's most beautiful concubines. Orihime, being the youngest, was a tender fifteen; she and Sora had the same mother.

"Well Ichigo, you have not seen my little sister in such a long time," laughed Aizen a bit, "I assure you, if you were to see her now, you'd see that she has grow into quite a lady…I am expecting offers at the coming out party, she is already quite a hit with a number of wealthy nobles. You know, it wouldn't surprise me if you yourself were to strike up an offer," said Aizen contemplatively.

"Me? Oh, no, it wouldn't be such a good idea, she's so young and-"

"Nonsense Ichigo, it'd be perfect, you're only nineteen yourself, and think about it this way, if you were to become the King of Sereitei, and you married the archduchess of Hueco Mundo…now that's quite the alliance don't you think? Surely it would benefit the people of Sereitei."

"I'm sure it would, but it's too soon for any of that, I have no plans to settle down any time soon-"

"Don't be an old prude like myself and your uncle Gin, it is a fine life, being a popular bachelor…but when the opportunity comes to wed into a higher title, then take it."

"Fine," sighed Ichigo, "I'll keep an open mind, but I'm not promising anything, don't take this as an offer of marriage."

"Understood," said Aizen; Momo arrived with Aizen's coffee then walked away, "so what are you boys doing tonight?" Asked Aizen taking a sip of his coffee.

"I thought I'd take Ichigo to Grimmjow's party," said Gin grinning.

"You'll find Count Grimmjow's parties to be quite…exotic Ichigo, I'm sure the two of you will have a fantastic time," said Aizen, a mischievous smirk on his face.

* * *

Aizen certainly was not exaggerating, Count Grimmjow's parties were…different. Ichigo's jaw dropped as he and Gin walked inside the "ballroom". The ballroom was gigantic; it was unlike anything Ichigo had ever seen. The room was lavishly decorated in red and black with numerous ornaments of gold. There were may large golden cauldrons filled with fire all over the room, in the corners there were luxurious tents with red veils; one could vaguely see the outlines of couples having sex through the veils.

The room itself was dim except for the light provided by the golden cauldrons. The ground was covered in expensive red and black Persian rugs decorated with fine gold detail. Middle Eastern music was being played, and there were beautiful women belly dancing, the shadows casting themselves over them making their curves appear more provocative. Ichigo was fairly positive that only a handful of the women there were actually nobility, no respectable woman would present herself in such a place, this was the type of place noble and rich men came to release their pent up stress.

One of the walls was covered in glass doors leading out into the open balcony, the moon could be seen from inside the ballroom, right over the balcony, overlooking the ocean. It was then that it happened, that upon looking at the moon, Ichigo remembered her. He felt ashamed all of a sudden.

"Ichigo," said Gin patting him on the back, "I've spotted Grimmjow, let's go over there and say hi to him. Ichigo followed Gin obediently until they reached the buffet table, where there was a blue-haired man chewing away at a turkey leg, a beautiful green haired woman by his side.

"Hey Grimmjow," said Gin.

"Gin, I didn't think you'd come, Sora and Ulquiorra are already here."

"Well, ya know me, fashionably late."

"And who's this?" Asked the green-haired woman in a sultry voice; Ichigo couldn't help but notice that she had a huge pair of-

"Milk? Fresh from the cows teats," said one of the waiters as he walked over to them with a tray.

"Yeah," said Grimmjow downing a glass of milk in a single gulp, there was something very feline about him.

"Oh, this is my nephew, Ichigo Kurosaki. Ichigo, this is Nelie-chan, she's Grimmjow's girlfriend."

"She is not my girlfriend," said Grimmjow with distaste.

"Then you wouldn't mind if I gave this little pup a try," said Nel.

"Touch him and he dies," said Grimmjow wrapping an arm around her possessively and pulling her body against his.

"Where are Ulquiorra and Sora then?" Asked Grimmjow.

"Sora's in one of the tents," said Grimmjow with a knowing smile on his face, "and Ulquiorra's over there getting the life sucked out of him."

Ichigo turned to find Ulquiorra Schiffer being felt up by four different women. He was sitting on a couch, two women were running their hands through his hair, one of them he was kissing, and the other one was sucking on his neck. The two other women were bringing attention to the lower half of his body, one was rubbing his thighs while the other was rubbing him through his pants. It surprised Ichigo to find him this way, considering he was always so serious and collected.

"Maybe we should help him a little neh Ichigo? It doesn't look like he can handle them all by himself," said Gin.

"Ulquiorra can be pretty dangerous when you cross him," said Grimmjow.

"As long as Matsumoto's here, then I'm good," said Gin; Grimmjow pointed him to a direction and Gin left immediately, leaving Ichigo as the third wheel.

"Don't you have somewhere you need to be?" Said Grimmjow pulling Nel closer to himself and planting a kiss on her forehead as she began to suck on his neck.

"See ya," said Ichigo; he left the couple alone and began to wander the ballroom.

* * *

There was nothing to worry about, he knew he could get any woman he wanted upon eye contact, the question was, who was worthy enough?

His eyes immediately landed on a stunning raven-haired vixen. She was not revealing as much as the other girls in the party. She wore a silk periwinkle toga-styled dress, revealing her back and creamy shoulders, not close to showing what the other girls wore, but she was quite the sight. She had long black hair, narrow mysterious brown eyes and skin so smooth it made him want to lick it. He approached her with confidence.

"Hey, wanna dance" he said in a husky voice as he tapped her shoulder, and in a flash Ichigo found himself face-first on the floor, hands caught behind his back.

"Don't touch me," she growled in his ear; then the sound of laughter made his way to his ears.

"Soi Fon, our trip here will have been a waste if you keep doing that to every man that approaches you," came the sultry voice of another female. Ichigo felt his hands were released, and then he stood up.

In front of him were the girl he had attempted to approach, and an incredibly sexy woman who was probably a little older than him. Ichigo had never seen such a perfect figure in his life, she had the most perfect pair of breasts he had ever seen, her long legs seemed to go for miles, and her skin was a dazzling dark olive tone. And her eyes, they were cat-like and colored gold, her hair cascading past her hips in a dark purple hue. She was wearing a very revealing orange toga.

"I'm sorry, how rude of me, I didn't introduce myself, I'm Yoruichi, Yoruichi Shihoin," said Yoruichi shaking his hand.

"From the Shihoin kingdom?" Asked Ichigo surprised. The Shihoin family was one of the most powerful magical royal families, tying in with the Kuchikis.

"Yeah something like that…" she said trailing off, it was clear she didn't want to talk about it.

"This is Soi Fon by the way, my personal body guard and a dear friend," said Yoruichi pushing Soi towards Ichigo; Soi gasped but shook his hand.

"She apologizes for attacking you," said Yoruichi.

"Yes, I'm sorry," said Soi bowing demurely.

"It's fine, I'm used to being around violent women," said Ichigo, his mind drifting back to Rukia.

"It is only fit that we make it up to him don't you think Soi Fon?" Asked Yoruichi looking over at the younger girl; Soi Fon nodded a little sadly, "is he adequate?"

"If you find him adequate then so do I Yoruichi-sama," said Soi in a quiet tone.

"Well, he's definitely attractive enough, and if he's at this party, then he must be a somebody," said Yoruichi scanning her eyes over Ichigo's body. "What do you think Soi?" Asked Yoruichi pushing Soi in front of Ichigo; Soi blushed as she scanned Ichigo's body.

"If you find him adequate Yoruichi-sama, then that is enough for me," said Soi; Ichigo didn't miss the pained expression on her face.

"All right then, let's go," said Yoruichi grabbing both Soi and Ichigo by the wrists and dragging them along.

"Hey! Where are you taking me?" Asked Ichigo a little annoyed as the older woman pulled him along.

* * *

They stopped in front of a tent, and Ichigo's face turned red as he realized what was going on. Yoruichi looked around, then peeked inside the tent.

"All right, it's empty, wait out here for a second Soi," said Yoruichi before taking Ichigo and pulling him inside the tent. Ichigo straightened his coat as they both sat down on the black and red mattress filled with gold cushions.

"What's going on?" Asked Ichigo a little confused.

"You see my friend Soi?" Said Yoruichi pointing outside; Ichigo nodded.

"Well, Soi has a very big problem."

"And what is that?"

"She's a virgin."

"There's nothing wrong with that," said Ichigo.

"I know, but you see, Soi is my apprentice, I'm training her to fight amongst the best Shinigami out there. In order for Soi to be more…open minded, and stronger, she needs to lose the virginity. Virgins are shy, sensitive, once we get this out of the way she'll have confidence to spare. So to cut it short, I want you to deflower my apprentice."

"No."

"Why not? Don't you find her attractive enough? Are you a virgin too?"

"No, I'm not, and she's incredibly hot, but I would never force an unwilling woman to bed, it's disgraceful to me as a man."

"She's not unwilling, we both want to get this out of the way to proceed with the training," said Yoruichi starting to look a little annoyed, "look, if you don't want to do it, fine, somebody else will do it, but keep in mind that the reason I chose you, is because you appear to be the kindest among the lot. Let it weigh on your conscience that a girl lost her virginity to a brute because you wouldn't participate," said Yoruichi crossing her arms.

Ichigo thought about it for a second; Yoruichi was right, the men at this party were for the most part brutes. He'd shared women with Gin before and he knew how violent Gin could be, in fact, according to what Gin had told him, most of the men from Hueco Mundo were the same way, they were into bondage and violent sexual encounters.

"Fine," said Ichigo, "I'll do it."

"Soi, you can come in now!" Yelled Yoruichi; Soi Fon walked inside. It amazed Ichigo that given the awkward situation, Soi appeared calm and collected, she sat across from Ichigo and next to Yoruichi.

"Soi, Ichigo has agreed," said Yoruichi; Soi merely nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"All right then," said Soi, and she turned to look at Yoruichi for instruction.

"I'll be taking a nap in that corner if you need me," said Yoruichi. The inside of the tent was huge, the mattress was double the size of a king size mattress. Because of all the pillows, Yoruichi was able to seclude herself in a far corner of the tent and create a barrier with the pillows to give them privacy.

"So then," sighed Soi taking a deep breath. Ichigo was never insecure when it came to sex, but her nervousness was rubbing on him; he had to shake his head to get his confidence back.

Of her own accord, Soi lied back on the mattress; Ichigo followed along by leaning over her and towering over her cowering form. She was such a strong woman, but from this angle she seemed so small and helpless.

"It's okay," whispered Ichigo, his hot breath tickling her ear. He pressed his lips against her jaw bone, slowly sprinkling kisses down her throat. Ichigo knew that the only requirement was to penetrate her, but he wanted to get her in the mood, it would make the process much more tolerable for Soi.

His lips reached the base of her throat, then he placed is hands at her hips, and ran his tongue hot and slow up from the base of her throat to the side of her mouth. When he reached her lips, he nibbled on the bottom one, and she went along with it and opened her lips for him. He claimed her mouth at once, parting her lips slowly with his own, but then kissing her with more enthusiasm, more passion. His tongue darted inside her mouth, and Soi moaned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Ichigo took the opportunity to explore her body, one of his hands lifted her knee up so that she was bending her leg. His fingertips found the hem of her dress, and he slowly pushed the periwinkle fabric down to her hips, his large hands touching every inch of milky skin left revealed. His other hand got to work on the top of her dress; he found the pin holding the single strap of the toga together, and removed it. That very same hand soon made it's way back down to her chest, and grabbed one of her breasts through the fabric; Soi gave a little gasp.

Ichigo pulled away from her shortly, to remove his coat and shirt, revealing his naked torso. Soi blushed as she stared at his sun-kissed abs; he smirked and leaned back towards her again.

"Touch me," he whispered huskily in her ear; she nodded and ran her hands through his abs, giving little moans of pleasure as he sucked on her neck. It was all too much for Ichigo, it had been too long since he last had sex, and that tempting little minx…these last three months he'd been lusting after her without receiving anything, he was a sexually frustrated mess.

Just thinking of Rukia made Ichigo more violent, he surprised Soi when he lifted her back off the mattress and roughly pulled the dress off of her body. Ichigo looked down at her breasts hungrily, and she cowered under him, avoiding his gaze.

He dived in and took a pink nipple into his mouth sucking at it with vigor. Soi threw her head back in ecstasy, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, grinding her innocent mound against his throbbing erection. This action alone took a toll on Ichigo's restraint; he bit her breast in an attempt to calm and keep himself from plunging into her. Soi ran her fingers through her hair, as her hips undulated against his in need, seeking to relieve her want of being filled by him.

After giving both of her breasts equal attention, Ichigo pulled back to look down at her; her neck and chest were glistening with his saliva, and her lips and nipples were swollen from his biting. She was panting beneath him, her cheeks flushed, and her forehead was beginning to show the first signs of sweat. Ichigo placed his fingers at her entrance, and he rubbed her through her panties, she was a little wet already, but not enough for his liking.

He hooked his fingers on the edge of her underwear, and slowly slid them down her long legs. When he was finished, he brought his fingers back to her entrance. He slipped a single finger inside her, and she flinched, he waited momentarily before moving his finger in and out of her. He looked at her face, and saw that she was relaxed and moaning occasionally, so he added another finger. He worked her carefully, testing her walls, when he got the reaction he wanted from her, he kept pressing against that spot. She was very tight, this was normal considering she was a virgin, he hadn't had such a tight fit since he was a young teenager. He kept working her until there were loud slurping sounds created by his plunging fingers, and his palm was being drenched by her fluids. He could tell by her moans and the look on her face that she was very close, so he took the opportunity.

He pulled away momentarily, to remove his pants and underwear, then positioned himself in between her legs. She looked up at him, her face flushed, her raven hair sprawled along the mattress, and he almost pictured she was somebody else. He took his cock, by now it was painfully hard and deeply veined, and positioned the head over her glistening pink nether lips. He teased her entrance slightly, to test it, and was pleased when she bucked against him impatiently. He inserted the head only, and she flinched; he took a deep breath to control his raging need. She felt her hands grasp his arms, holding on to him as he pushed through a tight ring of muscles. He looked down at her to find her face red, and her eyes shut as she tried to concentrate on blocking out the incoming pain. Ichigo aligned himself, placing both elbows on either side of her head as he pierced through her and sheathed himself fully inside her in a single thrust.

Ichigo felt so good, it had been so long, and her soft tender walls were wrapping around his cock tightly, snuggling him in a way only virgin walls could. His head swayed back, and in that moment of ecstasy he completely forgot about the discomfort the girl beneath him must be experiencing. It was her piercing scream that broke through his thoughts.

"Yoruichi-sama! It hurts!" She screamed out; in a second Yoruichi was kneeling beside them.

"Shh…it's okay," she cooed in her ear as she wiped Soi's sweaty bangs out of her face, "come on, you can do this."

"No, I can't, it hurts," cried Soi Fon, tears falling down her face.

"Come on, if you can't get through this what makes you think you'll get through the training?" Said Yoruichi; Soi Fon's eyes opened at this and she looked at Yoruichi.

"Go," said Yoruichi looking over at Ichigo; Ichigo didn't have to be told twice, he slipped out of her only to push back in again. Soi screamed, and he was about to stop again but Yoruichi signaled to him to keep going, so he did. He felt for the pained innocent beneath him, but his own pleasure coupled with the fact that they had all agreed he was the one to do this, vindicated him, and he kept on thrusting.

Soi Fon was covered in tears, and Ichigo was vaguely aware that Yoruichi was whispering reassurances in her ear and instructing her on how to angle her hips so that the penetrating would not be as painful. Soon, he no longer felt much resistance from Soi, and he was able to quicken his pace and the force of his thrusts.

"Ooohh, Yoooruichii-saaan?" Moaned out Soi a little confused at the sudden onslaught of pleasure.

"You're doing well Soi, I'll leave you now," said Yoruichi kissing her on the forehead and leaving to give them some privacy again. Ichigo felt relieved at having more privacy again, he grabbed her hips and pulled her in; simultaneously Soi angled her hips so he could drive himself deeper inside her.

Soi wrapped her arms tightly around his neck to brace herself as he pummeled inside her. Ichigo felt his mind leave him, it was floating somewhere on cloud nine as his cock ceased being flesh and became a piston. He could vaguely hear her moans, and the sound of his seed-heavy testicles slapping against her slick nether lips.

"Oohh…Ichigooo…" Ichigo twisted her face to the side violently, biting along the column of her neck, but she didn't seem to mind as she undulated her hips against his.

"Whaa-whaat's happening to me," she moaned out, wrapping her arms tighter. Ichigo could feel that she was close, he himself was very close.

He pumped into her faster, until he felt he walls clamping around him, and a guttural scream ripped out of her throat. She lied limp in his arms as he kept thrusting, reaching his own climax. He buried his face in the crook on her neck, and spurt his seed inside her. She felt her walls milking him, sucking in every singled drop.

"Rukia…" he sighed against her throat, and his eyes widened in surprise as he realized whose name he had just said. He pulled himself out of her and then looked at the girl beneath him, she was sound asleep, blood and semen seeping out through her weeping loosened entrance. She probably didn't get to hear what he called her, and he was glad about it, no one should ever be called another person's name the first time they have sex.

Ichigo dressed himself, and was about to exit the tent when he felt an arm on his shoulder, it was Yoruichi.

"Thanks," she said.

"It was my pleasure…literally," said Ichigo.

"I won't take anymore of your time then," she said; Ichigo turned to leave when she spoke again, "this Rukia, say hi to her from me will you?" Ichigo blushed and walked out of the tent.

* * *

He found Gin and Grimmjow waiting for him by the buffet table, Gin was tapping his foot a little impatiently, and Grimmjow was grinning like an idiot.

"What took ya?" Asked Gin a little annoyed.

"Well…" said Ichigo trailing off.

"You were gone for five hours, we were supposed to crash another party ya know."

"Oh, five hours?" Asked Ichigo surprised, he didn't realize he'd lasted that long, it had to be a record, who could blame him, he had gone so long without having sex.

"Sorry," said Ichigo.

"Nah, it doesn't matter," said Gin patting his back, "we have all week. So, did ya blow off some stress?"

"Yeah, definitely," snickered Ichigo.

"Well, let's go, it's close to dawn," said Gin; Ichigo turned to look outside at the balcony. The sky looked beautiful, it was still navy, but there were swirls of violet in there, Ichigo's heart dropped. Rukia. Why did he feel like he had betrayed her?

* * *

a/n: So how was it???


	5. This Fortress

A/N: So, not too much going on in this chapter, but it is necessary for development, I'm sorry for the delayed update, I thought I'd have more time to write now that school's out, but I've been working non-stop.

* * *

"Hi, my name is Mizuki Abarai, nice to meet you." Mizuki extended her hand and he didn't shake it; she pulled her hand back a little awkwardly. She smiled at him, and bowed again. "I hope we can become friends while I'm here."

Ichiro didn't say anything, looking at her as if he were looking at a ghost. He was a little stunned, he found it very difficult to believe that she was here, that the daughter of the woman responsible for his mother's misery was standing right in front of him. She was such an innocent-looking thing, perhaps only four years or so younger than him. There was nothing in her eyes, in her person, to hate; all these years he had pictured her to be someone completely different, a vixen, a conniving backstabber, just like his own mother had described Mizuki's mother as being.

He could only stare at her, he had never met someone so polite, except for Sado Yasutora. It confused him to see those large jade eyes looking back at him with genuine politeness, and not the least bit offended by the fact that he was being completely rude to her. He stood up a little more straight, and grunted, looking at her with respect as he bowed his head slightly. Their eyes connected for a moment, and he walked past her, into his own study.

Mizuki looked back at him confused, she did not know what to make of his reaction to her. He was such a sad-looking young man, he had his mother's large expressive grey eyes, and every emotion shone clearly through them. Ichiro looked very much like lord Ichigo, the same spiky orange hair, the tall build, the same tan skin color…there was one difference, and that was his eyes.

Ichiro and Ichigo Kurosaki were nothing alike, they would never be the same person, their souls were too different. Ichigo's amber eyes were at times indecipherable, it was impossible to see what he was thinking. Ichiro's eyes were too expressive to hide anything, and because of his incapability to hide anything…he would never become his father.

* * *

He did not know how to approach her, heck, he did not even know if he should. Ichigo was on his black horse, behind a tree, watching Rukia as she went about with her daily chores. Today was the day the allergic children of the serf village were given a serum to prevent spring allergies. Kana made the serum, and Rukia stood outside giving the serum to the children one by one as they made their way to the front of the line. Rukia smiled at them, that contagious smile of hers, Ichigo couldn't help but smile as well.

It felt almost surreal, to see her again, he had arrived five days ago, but he was too ashamed to come and see her, feeling that those large curious eyes would look at him and immediately see him as the perverted womanizer that he was. Rukia didn't know that side of him, there were not many young women his age in the area, all were either too young or too old, so she'd never had the opportunity to see the way he acted around other women.

Truth be told, he didn't want her to see that side of him, his dark side, it was a part of him he himself detested. Rukia was so innocent and pure, she was a contrast to his own person. He himself was dark, tainted, he awoke everyday to face his many inner-demons. The truth was, Ichigo was more than dark, there was an evil inside of him, one that fed off his sorrow and bitterness, and grew stronger every day.

He should not be here, coming was a mistake. He would be lying to himself if he said he didn't know what brought him to her. Today was the day, the anniversary of his mother's death, the past eleven years he had spent this day by himself, letting his dark side take over. He would spend days locked in his room, to prevent his dark side from hurting anybody, by the time it ended, his room was practically unrecognizable. Why was he here then? If not to seek comfort from her?

Ichigo was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard Rukia scream out his name. He looked up a little surprised, and saw her waving at him with a huge smile on her face. There were only a couple of children in line now, and he knew that she was expecting him to approach her once the children left. He got off his horse, and held the horse by the reins, smoothing out his coat, keeping himself busy from the thoughts of Rukia.

"Hey! Ichigo!" Her voice was closer this time, and Ichigo turned to find her walking towards him, her worn brown peasant's dress fluttering with the breeze, making the artless dress look incredibly graceful.

She stood in front of him, smiling, but Ichigo remained wordless, watching her as she waited for him to say something.

"Hey," she said standing in front of him timidly, an incredibly rare occurrence, given that Rukia was such an outspoken woman. Ichigo looked at her blankly, and there was an uncomfortably long silence.

"What? Are you daydreaming or something you fool? You were standing there staring for the past hour," she laughed punching him a little in the arm, but he remained serious, and didn't say a word to her.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked this time more seriously, as she placed a hand on his arm. Ichigo remained quiet for an unnecessarily long time.

"I'm fine, there's nothing wrong with me," he said climbing back on his horse; she looked at him confused.

"What are you doing?"

"Going hunting."

"Just like that?" She asked a little upset.

"What, is there something wrong with that, with hunting?" His voice was cold, detached, it wasn't Ichigo.

"It's not that, it's just…" her face lowered to the ground, and her hands fisted, "you've been gone…I thought you would…you promised me that we…" she let her sentence drift off, and they both remained silent for a moment.

"I don't owe an explanation, or my time," she looked up at this, "I'm the lord of Rukongai, and you're nothing but a serf, don't try to make things more complicated than they are."

"I'm not saying I'm anything more!" She yelled at him suddenly, tears threatening to form in her eyes, "I know what I am, I know I don't mean any-anything more to you than that I just-"

"Then know your place," and with that he rode off, he left quickly, never turning back .

* * *

Try as he might, Ichigo could not get his thoughts straight, he was supposed to be going over what would need to be bought for the summer harvest, but he couldn't seem to get his mind off of Rukia. He was beginning to regret what he said to her, not only because he hurt her, but because he didn't mean it, any of it. He could not quite put his finger on the nature of their relationship yet, or figure out what exactly she was to him, but he definitely knew she was so much more than just another serf.

"Lord Kurosaki," said Ishida a little annoyed. Uryu Ishida was his newest handyman, and son of a famous sorcerer and General in Prussia, Ryuuken. He was recommended to Ichigo by his father Isshin, it was so rare in this day and age to find a sorcerer, and Ishida just happened to be the son of one of his father's best friends. This alliance was convenient to Ichigo and Ishida both, Ishida was one of the few, very talented sorcerers left, and Ichigo was expected to become the future King of Sereitei, Ishida would have protection to spare.

"Lord Kurosaki I wish you would pay more heed to my counsel," sighed Ishida pushing up his slipping glasses.

"I am paying attention to you," said Ichigo in an attempt to be nice to him. Ishida had arrived the same day he came back from Hueco Mundo, five days ago, and had done nothing but nag at him to get things done.

Now, Ichigo was by no means a slacker, but Ishida was a perfectionist neat freak who relied too much on his schedule, he was very anal about being behind schedule, and got on Ichigo's case for being careless at times.

"Well we are behind by-"

"Can't we do this another time Ishida?" Asked Ichigo a little irritated leaning back on his chair, they were both in Ichigo's office sitting on separate chairs.

"No, we need to take inventory of what will be harvested and-"

"Hey, you haven't planned the Serf festival yourself have you?" Asked Ichigo suddenly, sitting up straight and giving Ishida his full attention.

"No, you specifically told me that you and the Serf by the name of Rukia would be taking care of that yourselves."

"Good, I was beginning to worry that you had."

"Lord Kurosaki, may I ask why you are so hell-bent on being so irrelevant today?" Asked Ishida annoyed, a vein twitching on his temple.

"I'm not…" said Ichigo, his thoughts drifting off again.

"That's it," said Ishida standing up and throwing the stack of papers on the table, "I cannot work like this, call for me when you are serious about taking responsibility for your land," said Ishida walking towards the door

"Woah wait, hold it there," said Ichigo; Ishida turned to face him annoyed.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, you're right," said Ichigo; Ishida appeared pleased by this and returned to his seat in front of him.

"Now then, it would be wise to rotate the wheat crops with-"

"Ishida, I need you to do me a favor."

"Kurosaki you just said-"

"It's nothing like that, I promise, not until we've finished this, I need you to deliver a letter to someone for me."

"That's what the servants are for Lord Kurosaki, frankly I'm insulted."

"It's a very important letter," said Ichigo, knowing this would appeal to Ishida.

"All right, but only when we have finished."

"Understood."

* * *

Rukia was doing her best not to fall over. She had climbed a twelve foot high fence…again; that was the third one she'd climbed. Honestly, why was every section of the castle grounds secluded from the others? Rukia had never been close to the castle, so she didn't know her way around, and she was being careful not to get caught. Hopefully she'd be able to find Ichigo before running into any of the guards.

After her encounter with Ichigo, Rukia had sat by the lake, huffing angrily to herself. She would not cry, she had to put her own feelings aside just this once. It was obvious there was something wrong with him, and if she was right, he had said such cruel things to her to keep her away from him, to keep her from finding out what it was. If she wanted to make any progress, to come a step closer to solving the enigma that was Ichigo Kurosaki, she had to sacrifice her pride. She knew she was starting to reach him, and to someone like Ichigo, it seemed to be a first; perhaps that was why he was acting like this, he was afraid.

Once Rukia made it to the other side of the fence, she rested her hands on her knees and took a couple of deep breaths. She was very tired, and she still was not too certain about what she would say to him. She had to choose her words carefully.

Her momentary breather was interrupted when she heard voices coming her way. She looked around panicking and found a tree; she climbed on top of it as quickly as she could, then concentrated, and placed an invisibility charm on herself. Three men walked under the tree and sat by a table.

* * *

"Hmm… Rukongai is such a nice place don't ya think?" Sighed Gin blissfully as he swirled the red wine in his glass. Gin, Grimmjow, and Ulquiorra were staying with Ichigo for the weekend, Gin had convinced Ichigo to let them stay the weekend to do some hunting in the forests of Rukongai. Currently, they were sitting by a table under a tree, having lunch.

"It's not that great," scoffed Grimmjow, "my place is better, don't you think so Ulquiorra, isn't my place better?"

"Rukongai is adequate, however, there are more productive ways to spend one's time."

"You and your dirty witchcraft, you need to loosen up Ulquiorra," said Grimmjow patting him on the back; Ulquiorra took a sip of his own wine, unaffected by his comment.

"It saddens me that Ichi-kun has been acting strange since we got here though, I'd go so far as to say that he didn't want us to come," pouted Gin.

"Something crawled up his ass, he wouldn't spar with me this morning," said Grimmjow looking resentful.

"Well Grimm-" Gin stopped talking immediately and turned to look at Ulquiorra, he was sitting still, his green eyes glowing.

"Ulqui-" but Grimmjow was silenced when Ulquiorra brought his index finger over his own lips and signaled him to be quiet.

"Ulquiorra?" Asked Grimmjow a little confused when Ulquiorra stood up. Ulquiorra's black nails elongated into long claws, and he sliced the tree clean in half, causing the top half to fall; the other two men took a couple of steps back from the damage.

"You have been discovered," said Ulquiorra. The other two men watched in fascination as a tiny girl slowly appeared in front of them. She rubbed her head with her palm, and then looked back at them frightened.

Rukia had never come across such individuals in her life. The man with the blue hair looked dangerous. He appeared to be the type of man that wouldn't hesitate to kill. The one with the black hair had skin that was impossibly pale, and contrasted sickly with hair the darkest shade of black she had ever seen, worse of all were his eyes…there was nothing behind them, they were empty, devoid of everything.

The man with the silver hair had the most dramatic impression on her, he appeared demented, there was something about that grin that brought chills down her spine. His narrow red eyes regarded her with such malice, that Rukia felt her body become enveloped by snakes.

Rukia regarded Gin cautiously, she instinctively drew back from him, without realizing that she was physically doing it. She crawled back from her spot on the ground, and winced when she felt a pain shoot through her ankle, apparently it had broken during her fall. Gin smirked at her and made to take another step towards her; Rukia gasped, horrified, her violet eyes glowing, emanating an eerie glow.

Rukia's intent stare on Gin was stopped when she felt someone grasp her neck. Rukia's panicked eyes shot up and connected with empty green ones, the man with the black hair was looking at her with slight curiosity, the claw of his thumb dangerously close to piercing through the flesh of her throat. He looked at her a second longer, then let go of her, throwing her to the ground.

Ulquiorra looked at Rukia carelessly, then put his hands back in his pockets and walked away.

"Where are ya going Ulqui-kun?"

"I have better things to do, you can sweep the trash away yourselves," he said simply, and left inside the castle.

"Well well well," said Grimmjow licking his lips and rubbing his hands together as he looked at Rukia.

"Have ya ever seen such a cute thing in your life? I have an idea," said Gin kneeling in front of Rukia; he wrapped a hand around her neck; Rukia struggled to get free and breathe, "let's choke her while we fuck her."

"Can't you ever have sex with living things?"

"Yea, but it's not as fun, it's so much more fun fucking them as ya watch the light disappear from their eyes," said Gin grabbing a fistful of her hair and biting her neck to the point that he drew blood; Rukia yelled, but Gin only bit her harder.

"Fine, but let me have a go at her first, I like them alive and kicking," said Grimmjow. Gin shrugged his shoulders and released her only to come from behind her and force her to the floor, he held her down by the shoulders while Grimmjow made his way towards her in anticipation.

"You're gonna be so sweet," said Grimmjow licking his lips.

"Get away from me!" Yelled Rukia kicking at him as he got closer.

Grimmjow easily evaded her kicks, but then a blast of energy from Rukia's body shocked him to the point that he fell back. Grimmjow stood back up with a bloody lip, looking very angry, and Rukia looked down at her own hands, surprised at her own abilities.

"Well aren't ya full of surprises…" said Gin grasping her by the neck and lifting her in the air to observe her better. His grasp on her neck was tight, but not to the point that he was choking her.

"How's it that a cute little slave like ya is learned in the art of kidou?" Said Gin observing her closely, his face was so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her face.

Just as Rukia began to panic, a pain shot through her spine, her eyes became wide with shock, and she lost all consciousness. Gin looked over at Grimmjow, who was standing in back of Rukia, having had chopped her on the back of the neck with his hand.

"Why did ya have to do that? I wanted to torture her a little first."

"You like fucking unconscious women don't you, well now she's fainted…the bitch was becoming a nuisance," said Grimmjow a little annoyed.

"Whatever ya say, so…who goes first?"

* * *

Her eyes felt heavy, she tried to open them but in her attempts a sharp pain shot through her head. She groaned and rolled to her side, her body felt heavy. Rukia felt trapped, trapped inside her own body, her mind was awake, but her body didn't seem to comply with her brain's demands. Her sense of feel was extremely sensitive, she could feel the fabric under her palms with uncanny detail, the texture, the material beneath her was soft, not silk, but something much more comfortable. She realized that she was no longer wearing her long peasant dress, but something shorter, with thin straps.

She managed to roll to her side, and a gasp escaped her mouth as a shock of pain shot up her spine, a moment later the pain was numbed by a pleasurable sensation, and her gasp turned into a moan. She was all too aware of a warm hand running down her back, outlining the curve of her spine. The hand stopped at the side of her hip, and disappeared. Slowly but surely, Rukia began to regain control of her body, she was able to mover her hands, then hear head, and as soon as she could, fluttered her eyes open.

The brightness hit her all at once, and she was blinded. She squinted her eyes, and her eyes slowly became accustomed to their surroundings. She was in a large room that appeared empty, except for the bed she was lying in. There were several windows, all covered in white curtains, Ichigo Kurosaki was sitting on the ledge of one of them, looking outside with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Rukia sat up carefully on the bed, wincing at the slight pain that ran up her spine. She looked down at herself and covered herself with the wide bed sheets. Ichigo was aware that she was awake, but did not turn to look at her, a sad expression spreading itself on his face. She slowly made her way over to him, stopping when she was a couple of steps away.

"They were kicking your spine when I got there, your body was trembling on the ground, but they didn't stop," he said finally speaking; he didn't look at her, his gaze still fixed on something outside.

"Did they-"

"No."

"Oh," was all she said as she fidgeted nervously in front of him.

"They would have, if I hadn't gotten there in time; I got there with little time to spare…"

"Thank you," she said looking at him. Then he finally turned to look at her, his eyes filled with anger, and with pain.

"Thank you for what? For this? This happened to you because of me and you're thanking me?"

"It wasn't your fault," she said taking a step closer to him, she was in front of him now, "I was the one that decided to come and see you."

"Yes, but if I hadn't been such an asshole earlier that wouldn't have been necessary," said Ichigo, his voice thick with guilt; they were both silent for a long time before Ichigo spoke again, "I didn't want you to see me Rukia, I didn't want you to see me like that, not ever."

Ichigo gasped in surprise when Rukia placed her hand on his cheek and turned him to look at her. She was looking at him with sorrow in her eyes, her large violet eyes looking through his with empathy.

"I want to see you Ichigo, not just the good, but also the bad, there is no part of you I would denounce. Just please, let me in, let me understand you, let me…let me be your friend, a real friend," she said, her eyes becoming watery; she wrapped her arms around him before he had the opportunity to see her tears fall. "You don't have to be alone, please, let me be there for you…let me see you."

"You won't like what you see. I'm a bad person Rukia, I would hurt you so much."

"No…you would never hurt me…" she whispered; he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her away enough for her to see him.

"No! You don't understand, my world…my world is not all palaces and roses, there is darkness Rukia, so much darkness."

"No, Ichigo, that's impossible, even in darkness there's always light-"

"No! You're not listening," he screamed at her breaking into tears; he noticed that by now she was sobbing as well. "It is an evil world out there Rukia, up till now you've been living a life of innocence, of light. Rukongai is a beautiful place, but beyond these walls, there is war, evil, death, I don't want you to leave your world to enter into mine. What happened today, that was nothing, there are worse things than pain…there are worse things than death, I have seen them, I don't want you to see them too," he said looking intensely into her eyes.

Her eyes gazed into his softly, tears streaming down her cheeks. She grabbed both of his arms and wrapped them around her waist. Then she placed both of her hands on his cheeks, he was sitting and she was standing, so she was looking down into his tear-soaked face. She smiled at him, then placed a soft kiss on his forehead; Ichigo closed his eyes, feeling the kiss go straight into his mind, clearing all negative thoughts.

"Everything is going to be okay. I'm not asking for anything more than your friendship, I don't expect to become part of your world. I just want to be with you like this, here in Rukongai, I want to be there for you when I can. I can't solve your inner most dilemmas, but, I can listen." she said wrapping her arms around him again. As she hugged him she looked outside, and noticed that the sun was setting on the beautiful blue ocean, it was quite the sight to behold.

"I love this view, the ocean is so beautiful, it smells even better than roses.," she said as she felt Ichigo wrap his arms tighter around her, and she sighed happily into his hair.

_Rukia…you will never know…I will never tell you just how grateful I am for this, for you, the day I do …I will have damned you to hell…_


	6. Our Story

A/N: So, first and foremost, I welcome criticism as long as it is constructive and points out the faults in my stories, helping me improve them. But comments like "you suck" are completely rude and irrelevant. To me it's just bitter people trying to make themselves feel better by making others feel worse. That said, I am thankful to the rest of you that have provided me with reviews I can build on. I do not claim to be like Emily Bronte, she was a genius, and I write for the fun of it obviously, it is not my career, otherwise I would not be submitting fanfiction on this website.

Also, in my story, Soul Society is a continent in between America and Europe, it is made up of different kindgoms, like Sereitei and Heuco Mundo for example.

Anyway, this story keeps going forward, and getting bigger, one more chapter, and the drama begins to kick in! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter^^

* * *

_"You have no heart, your bitterness will never allow you to love. You say you love him, but someone as spiteful as you can only be capable of hate."_

* * *

Rukia and Ichigo were sitting under a tree making the decorations for the festival. A week had passed since the incident at the castle, and Ichigo seemed to be in much better spirits. Perhaps Rukia was right, maybe all this time what he needed to do was let it out; not alone in his room like he always did, but to a person. He was in need of someone to listen, and Rukia had provided him with that.

It took a while for the awkwardness between them to fade away, considering Rukia had seen him cry, and no one else had seen him cry before, not even his family when his mother died. Now things seemed to be going back to normal, and Ichigo was beginning to fall back into his comfortable routine. Rukia had been very supportive, she did not question him after the incident; didn't even bring it up, only speaking about it when Ichigo chose to talk about it.

He did not feel as paranoid about his influence on Rukia. He knew Rukia was strong, both physically and mentally, and she would not be easily influenced by Ichigo's negative actions like Ichigo feared she would be. Rukia was innocent, but by no means was she that delicate. Rukia had assured him that from now on, any decision she made, whether it be good or bad, would be thoroughly scrutinized by her before passing, and Ichigo should never feel responsible.

"Hey stupid, what the hell is that? You call that a bow?" Asked Rukia a little annoyed.

"Well at least they look a little like bows, yours look like retarded rabbits," said Ichigo scowling; he turned to look at her, and she was giving him that look, the one she gave him seconds before kicking him on the shins.

"This festival has to be better than the others, pretty decorations will never makeup for the absence of…but we need to make it as great as possible," said Rukia turning to look at Ichigo with a forced smile on her face; Ichigo smiled back and held her hand in his.

His amber eyes bore into hers. For a moment she became lost in his gaze, but then she snapped her head to the side and pulled her hand away from his uncomfortably.

"By the way, I invited my sisters and my dad," he said.

"The weird man that wanted you to impregnate me?"

"The same one."

"And your sisters? What are they like?" She asked curiously.

"Well, they're fraternal twins. Karin is a lot like dad and me, she's into fighting; damn good fighter if you ask me. Yuzu, Yuzu is a lot like mom was, she's kind, and a great cook. They're both thirteen," said Ichigo with a worried look on his face; Rukia punched him lightly on the arm and laughed.

"What? Is protective big brother upset that their debutante ball will be coming soon?" Asked Rukia laughing.

"It's still two years away," scowled Ichigo crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, but years fly by, before you know it, you'll be an old man surrounded by nieces and nephews."

"It's inevitable, and daughters and sons, don't forget that," sighed Ichigo.

"Yes, I'm sure you'll have many of those," she sighed as well as she leaned back against the tree trunk, "you will marry a beautiful princess, and you will be completely infatuated with her," she said looking up at the sky.

"Yes, beautiful," said Ichigo looking at her, he couldn't stop staring at her, at the way the setting sun made her skin glow from this angle.

"Rukia, have you ever wanted to leave this place? Have you ever had…dreams?" Rukia giggled at this, but then turned to look at him seriously.

"Yes, when I was a little girl I dreamed of being a shinigami. Kaien-dono fed my fantasies with stories. He told me he was a shinigami himself, and told me of his adventures. I guess I've always wondered what it would be like…having such a great purpose," she sighed again, "but…I am nowhere near qualified, Kaien-dono instructed me in the ways of kido, and my fighting skills are average, but I've never touched a sword in my life."

Ichigo looked at her surprised; he never would have thought that peaceful life-loving Rukia would want to become a Shinigami. The Shinigami were a special kind of warrior, each one worked within their kingdom, as warriors and leaders with the capability of wielding a certain amount of magic and using it to their advantage in battle. They were connected to the spiritual world, and as such had the ability to exorcise spirits and control certain elements of nature. A shinigami learned how to evoke the spirits of nature and use them in their sword, a shinigami's zanpakuto was the reflection of the shinigami's spirit.

"You know," said Ichigo thoughtfully, "I could help you with your swordsman skills; when you're good enough, I can ask the captain commander if I can start training you to become a shinigami."

"Really? But how are you going to do that? Don't you need to be a shinigami to do that?"

"Rukia, I'm a Shinigami."

"What?" She asked surprised, "at your age? You're so lying strawberry."

"It's not unheard of, my cousin Gin became one at fourteen," said Ichigo; Rukia winced at hearing Gin's name.

"So then…you can train me?" She asked, still having a hard time believing him.

"Yes."

"But…are you any good?"

"Rukia, just trust me on this," said Ichigo; he didn't want to be cocky and let her know that he was actually considered a prodigy.

"Okay…when do you wanna start?"

"Well, the festival is tomorrow, how about the day after tomorrow?"

"It's a deal then?"

"Yeah."

"So then, I should probably be leaving now, all we need to set up tomorrow is the bows," said Rukia standing up, "see you tomorrow."

"Can I walk you?"

"Huh?" Said Rukia looking at him a little surprised, "sure, if you want."

Ichigo stood up and walked behind her. Rukia was a fast walker, so he had to extend his long legs to catch up to her; when he did, he held her hand. She turned to look at him confused, a pink tint on her cheeks.

"You're fast; I don't want to lose you," he explained, a light blush on his cheeks.

"Ichigo, you'll never lose me, you're too persistent," said Rukia looking over at him, "besides, it's not like I'll let you lose me. You're not that lucky you fool," she said holding his hand tighter; then she let go of him.

Ichigo walked silently behind her, going over what she'd just said. It had sounded an awful lot like a promise. They stopped at the front door of Rukia's cabin, and they both faced each other, each wanting to say something to the other.

"Well, umm, goodnight," she said smiling at him.

"Yeah, goodnight," said Ichigo in a daze, the light of the moon danced magically in her eyes, sucking him in.

Rukia's face went red, and she tilted her face up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The kiss appeared innocent, but it was long, her lips pressed on his cheek, then brushed closer to his lips as they pulled away.

Ichigo looked down at her, speechless, he took her face in his hand, and tilted her face towards his slowly, his eyes shutting gently the closer they came.

"Rukia-oh, lord Kurosaki, I did not know you would be visiting tonight." The two separated, red in the face, as Kana opened the door. Ichigo looked down at Rukia then over at Kana.

"Actually, I was just walking Rukia, it's late and…I didn't want her to walk back by herself."

"Why ever not? Rukongai must be the safest place for hundreds of miles," said Kana.

"Well, you just never know," said Ichigo rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "goodnight Kana," said Ichigo waving her off as he walked away.

"Ichigo!" Ichigo stopped when he heard Rukia's voice; he turned around to see her jog over to him.

"Yeah?" He said stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I was wondering…there's this friend, is it all right if he comes to the festival tomorrow?"

"A friend?" He asked a bit confused.

"Yes, Renji, he lives pretty far away, and he doesn't get to come around too often, haven't seen him for a whole year," she said looking at him with a hopeful look on her face.

"Well, if he's a friend of yours, then I don't see a problem with it," said Ichigo, he couldn't say no to that face.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah," said Ichigo; he watched as she jogged back to the cabin. Once Rukia had reached the door, she waved over at him; Ichigo waved back, and made his way back to the castle.

* * *

"You've done a good job so far son, your uncle Kaien would have been proud," said Isshin patting his son on the back.

Ichigo, Isshin, Yuzu, and Karin had just arrived to the Serf village. The sun was just beginning to set and the village was decorated in white, purple, and light yellow paper lanterns. Flowers from Rukongai's prairies were used, of the same colors, to decorate the modest courtyard of the village, and were complemented with purple ribbons. Tables were set up for people to sit, and there was an area where the food and drinks were set up. The village musicians were playing their instruments, and people were dancing happily.

"This was really nice of you Ichigo," said Yuzu.

"Don't inflate his head anymore Yuzu, or we'll never hear the end of it," said Karin with her arms crossed.

"Hey! Why do you always have to be such a bi-"

"Ichigo! Don't talk to your darling sister like that!" Said Isshin punching Ichigo in the face.

"What the hell man?"

"That's why you should always be on guard son!"

"Men," said Karin sighing as she and Yuzu watched their father and brother wrestling on the floor.

"It looks lovely doesn't it Karin," said Yuzu staring at the paper lanterns with wonder in her eyes, "it's different than all the parties we usually go to."

"Yeah, it definitely is," said Karin looking around at all the happy people.

"You're so mean Jinta," came the cries of a young girl as she ran towards their direction. The little girl had black hair, and her eyes were big and grey; she looked only a little bit younger than them, perhaps eleven years old or so.

"What's wrong?" Yuzu asked the little girl rubbing her back.

"Ji-Ji," she said looking up at them through teary eyes, but she didn't finish her sentence before breaking into sobs again.

"Forget about her, she's just a crybaby," said a red-haired boy as he walked over to them, "my name's Jinta, and that crybaby over there is Ururu."

"You asshole, I bet you're just saying that because you made her cry," said Karin.

"Fine, I'll tell ya why she's crying if you want, but it'll be more embarrassing for Ururu than for me," said Jinta.

"No, Jinta, don't, I'll stop crying," said Ururu holding his arm suddenly, "I'm sorry if I worried you," said Ururu turning to look at Karin and Yuzu and bowing.

"Are you sure you don't want us to take care of this bully?" Asked Karin.

"It's fine, Jinta is right, it was a stupid reason to cry, besides…you would probably laugh at me," said Ururu blushing a little.

"So, do the two of you live in this village?" Yuzu asked Jinta.

"No, we came here with the moocher; he came to see Rukia-san," said Jinta.

"Rukia? Our brother's friend?" Asked Yuzu.

"Wait…you're the landlord's sisters?" Asked Jinta a little surprised.

"Yes but it's nothing to-"

"I'm so sorry my ladies, that I did not recognize you earlier," said Jinta bowing.

"It's fine really, please don't, it's embarrassing," said Yuzu with a smile on her face; Jinta looked up at her, and their eyes connected.

"I hope you don't find it too forward of me…but would my lady care to join me for a dance?" Jinta asked Yuzu extending his hand.

"Sure," said Yuzu with a blush on her face as she placed her hand in his.

* * *

Ichigo was sitting by a table with Isshin and Kana; the three were having apple cider when he spotted Rukia walking by with what looked to be a very heavy bucket of something over her head. The bucket appeared so heavy that she wobbled a little from side to side.

"I'll be back," said Ichigo; he stood up and rushed over to Rukia.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked as he walked next to her.

"Nothing, just carrying these apples over there," said Rukia.

"Do you need any help?"

"No, I think I can carry them on my own."

"Come on, I'm trying to be nice here, my dad's watching."

"Fine stupid strawberry," sighed Rukia, "but they're pretty heavy."

"If a midget like you can carry them, so can I," said Ichigo nonchalantly.

"Fine, if you say so," said Rukia; she allowed Ichigo to take the bucket from her. Upon taking the weight from Rukia, Ichigo fell to the floor, the contents of the bucket falling to the floor, along with water.

"What the hell? Why didn't you tell me there was water in there?"

"You didn't ask," said Rukia shrugging her shoulders, "it's not my fault you weren't strong enough to carry it."

"I'm strong enough, it was just unexpected," said Ichigo.

"Whatever, I have to go fill the bucket with water again, how else will the kids bob for apples?" Said Rukia taking the bucket and filling it with the fallen apples. The apples would need to be washed as well.

"Wait, I'm coming with you," said Ichigo following quickly after her.

"Damn stupid strawberry," grunted Rukia to herself as she sat by the river, washing the apples and putting them back in the bucket.

Ichigo watched her carefully as he leaned by a tree. Rukia was wearing a light blue kimono with cherry blossoms at the bottom, the obi was colored a soft pink, and she was wearing a minimal amount of makeup, not so much that it was overwhelming, but enough to highlight her naturally beautiful features. Her black haair was in a low ponytail, and she was wearing a beautiful snow white comb on her hair. Her ensemble was simple, but it made her look so pure, like an angel. The sun had already set, and the moon made her snowy complexion look like it was glowing, adding on to her already ethereal appearance.

Rukia finished washing the apples then looked over at Ichigo expectantly. Ichigo looked at her confused, and Rukia rolled her eyes and pointed at the bucket. Ichigo made his way over to her and looked down at the bucket.

"What?'

"I need your help filling it with water," said Rukia; Ichigo took the bucket and submerged it in the river. This time, he held the bucket firmly.

"You need help?" Asked Rukia.

"I'm fine," said Ichigo; they walked back to the village.

Time flew by as Ichigo and Rukia supervised the various games for the children. When it was over, Rukia put all the games away, and took a seat next to Kana, while Ichigo sat next to Isshin. The two served themselves some sake, looking exhausted.

"Son, I am so proud of you," said Isshin breaking into tears, "you and my dear third daughter are taking a much needed rest from the vigorous lovemaking that will provide me with grandchildren!"

"Dad, shut up," said Ichigo, he was too tired to fight him.

A slow song started playing, and Ichigo felt himself relax with the melody. He looked over at Rukia, her appearance was disheveled from their earlier activities, her cheeks were tinted pink, and her hair was sticking out from its ponytail in certain areas. He smirked to himself, then stood up and extended his hand to her.

"What?" Asked Rukia confused as she looked at his hand.

"You want to dance?"

"I…"

"Rukia! There you are, I've been looking all over for you," said a red-haired man with strange tribal tattoos as he approached them.

"Oh, sorry about that Renji," said Rukia standing up; Ichigo looked at Renji, then at Rukia, and back and forth.

"Oh, sorry, Ichigo this is Renji, a very dear friend of mine; Renji, this is Ichigo, the new landlord of Rukongai," said Rukia introducing them, the two men glared at each other, but shook hands anyway.

"So you're the friend," said Ichigo.

"Yeah, and you're Kaien's replacement," said Renji; Rukia glared at Renji.

"I'm sorry, I guess I'm also getting used to this, Kaien was a good friend of mine. I used to be a serf here; he knew of my dreams, and set me free to pursue them," said Renji, "I'm a merchant now," said Renji.

"It's fine, I'm aware that the shoes I am to fill are a couple of sizes too big," said Ichigo.

"It's good to see that you're following by his example though," said Renji looking around at the party, "Rukia was right about you."

"Of course I am," said Rukia smiling over at Ichigo with a twinkle in her eye.

"Well I've had enough chit chat, wanna dance?" Said Renji looking over at Rukia; Rukia smiled at him and took his hand.

"Excuse me," said Renji bowing to the others before leaving to the dance floor with Rukia.

With a look of disappointment, Ichigo sat back down; he was so deep in thought that he did not notice Kana and Isshin staring at him.

"You must be on guard son," said Isshin with a smirk; Kana laughed a little as well.

"Yes, on guard," mumbled Ichigo to himself as he took a sip of the sake he was drinking earlier.

Ichigo watched as Rukia and Renji danced close to each other. He was holding her in his arms, and she had her hands placed on his chest, laughing as he told her a joke. Despite being jealous, Ichigo couldn't help but smile to himself. Since he met her, he had found himself staring at her for long periods of time. Something about Rukia was just different, something about her was just, not human, not in a bad way. There was a magic about her, her smile made him smile, and those large violet eyes filled him with hope.

The funny thing about Rukia was she had no idea the effect she had on people. She did not see how much the people in the village admired her, the way her laughter was so contagious…it affected all of those surrounding her, and she certainly had no idea what it was she was doing to him, to Ichigo. He had never felt so much hope inside of him before, he had not genuinely smiled in such a long time, and since she came along, he found himself smiling even at the thought of her.

He watched closely as Rukia and Renji separated; then he noticed Rukia whispered something in his ear, and turned towards Ichigo. She walked towards him slowly, almost apprehensively. There was a pretty pink tint on her cheeks, and a shy smile on her face.

"Umm, Ichigo, there's something very neat I-I want to show you," she said speaking rather quickly; Ichigo nodded at her, and followed closely behind her.

Isshin and Kana looked at each other and they both looked very serious and thoughtful. Their pending conversation was interrupted when Ururu walked over to them.

"Hello Kana-sama; Kurosaki-sama," said Ururu bowing.

"Hey there Ururu, have a seat," said Kana; Ururu did as she was told, "is something wrong?" Asked Kana noticing that the girl looked depressed.

"No, it's nothing Kana-sama," said Ururu with a miserable look on her face.

"Hello everybody," said Renji walking over to them with a smile on his face.

"I see your date was taken away," smirked Kana.

"Yes, unfortunately," sighed Renji; then he looked over at the little girl sulking on the chair, "hey there little bird, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," mumbled Ururu.

"Hmm, I have an idea, how about you join me for a dance?"

"Really?" Asked Ururu surprised looking up at him, her eyes twinkling.

"Yep, you can be my girl for the evening," he said winking at her; Ururu nodded enthusiastically and took his hand.

* * *

Ichigo looked around a little confused as Rukia led him into the forest, they were getting farther and farther away from the village, but it was amazing how the music was still audible. It was late in the night, but there was a full new moon and their surroundings were well illuminated.

Rukia came to a stop suddenly, and turned to look at him. Ichigo looked at her a little confused. They were standing in a clearing with trees surrounding them; the moonlight hitting them directly from above.

"There was something I wanted to show you," she whispered to him.

"Why are we whispering," he said a bit too loudly for her liking; she signaled to him not to speak so loud.

"It happens on this day every year," she said whispering to him again; she looked around expectantly for a second. Nothing happened, but then he looked up surprised when little balls of light floated up in the air and danced all around them. There were so many of them it appeared they were forming a wall around them.

He looked over at Rukia to see a large smile on her face as she looked up at the fireflies, which were making a tunnel over them, many feet tall. The lights went from yellow to blue in seconds, and switched back and forth, the colors changing at different times. They were magical fireflies, he'd heard of them, but never seen them before; they were used for medicinal purposes in many areas of soul society.

He couldn't help himself seeing the child-like happiness in Rukia's eyes, and that beautiful smile of hers…he took her hand in his, holding her body close to his. She looked at him surprised, and a little confused. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and with his other hand took hold of hers.

"You owe me a dance," he explained; she blushed and buried her face in his chest, to keep him from seeing her bashfulness.

"You're right," said nodding against his chest.

Timed ticked by, but for them it stopped, her body wrapped warmly in his arms, her large violet eyes staring into his; the little balls of light from the fireflies reflected in them. She smiled up at him, and held him a little closer; he wrapped his arms around her completely and buried his nose in her hair. The songs came and went, the music changing its beat, but he held her that way through the many changes of music. A particular song started playing and both Rukia's and Ichigo's eyes widened.

"You recognize that song too?" Asked Ichigo; Rukia nodded.

"Kaien-sama used to play it all the time, at the festivals…and sometimes because I asked him to, I always thought it was such a beautiful melody…I grew up listening to it, since I was very small," said Rukia holding him a little closer.

"My mother taught him that song, she loved the piano; apparently it was something she and uncle Kaien had in common. I also grew up with that song," said Ichigo running his hand over her cheek, and cupping her chin.

"It's a special song for you," she said her violet eyes hooded as his face drew closer to hers, "and it's a special song for me."

"Yes," he said looking into her eyes, their lips only inches a apart, "it's special to us both." With that, his lips closed over hers, softly, gently, a whisper of a kiss.

Rukia gasped surprised as his lips worked hers apart slowly. Ichigo sensed her alarm, and caressed her jaw with his thumb. Rukia melted into the kiss, bringing her arms up to wrap them around his neck. Ichigo smiled into the kiss, wrapping a hand behind her neck, and placing another at the small of her back to bring her closer.

Her kiss was better than he thought it would be, her lips were so soft, and so sweet. Her inexperience was obvious, as she fumbled to follow along with him, but he was patient with her, working her lips slowly for her to learn how to move them.

When they pulled apart, Ichigo held her face in his hand, and she looked away blushing. Ichigo urged her to look at him, and she did, with apprehension. When her eyes finally fixed with his, he gave her a reassuring smile, and she relaxed. Rukia smiled at him again, and this time she was the one to initiate the next kiss.

Their walk back to Rukia's cabin was quiet, and a little awkward. Rukia looked away bashfully, occasionally turning to look at him. Ichigo kept a firm hold on her hand, intertwining their fingers from time to time. When they came closer to the cabin Rukia stopped them, and turned to look at him.

"I can go alone from here. I don't want Kana to get the wrong idea," said Rukia looking to the side with a shy smile on her face.

"And just what might the wrong idea be?" Asked Ichigo cupping her face and bringing her closer to him.

"I don't know, you tell me," said Rukia looking into his eyes; Ichigo closed the distance between them and kissed her again.

"I have to go, see you tomorrow?" Said Rukia pulling away.

"See you tomorrow," he said smiling at her; she walked away and waved at him before going inside her cabin.

Ichigo sighed aloud, he felt very light as he walked, there was a spring in his step that wasn't there before. His mind was so at ease, so untroubled, that he did not feel the presence watching him. Ichigo's heart raced and he was in total shock when he felt somebody pull him. Upon seeing his father's face Ichigo let out a sigh of relief.

"What the hell old man? You scared the shit out of me!" Said Ichigo, but he grew quiet when he saw the somber look in his father's eyes, "what's wrong? Did something happen to the girls?" He asked, growing alarmed suddenly.

"No, nothing like that," said Isshin, "son, we, need to talk about something, Kana and I notice how close you and Rukia have become..."

"Look dad, you can spare me 'the talk', I'm well educated about the birds and the bees-"

"That's not it!" Said Isshin shaking him a little, "Ichigo, you know me very well, and you know I'm not one to judge a man by his titles or the riches he has, you know that right?"

"Of course dad," said Ichigo smiling at him, "mom and uncle Kaien were just like you, you were never snobs like all the others."

"I'm glad you think that Ichigo, now, I want you to hold on to that perception of me, because I'm about to tell you something you might not like," said Isshin looking over at Ichigo very seriously.

"Son, be very careful with Rukia, she's a sweet girl; I don't want you to hurt her."

"Why would I hurt her?" Asked Ichigo confused.

"Son, Rukia is a serf, she's a bright girl, and very kind, but whatever there is between you two has no future, you know that, right?"

"What? What the hell do you mean by that dad?"

"I mean that this needs to stop; now before it goes too far," said Isshin, his voice firm and serious, "I have nothing against her Ichigo, but considering who you are, you do not have the freedom to choose a woman of her class. You are your grandfather's direct heir Ichigo, now, I'm not telling you this to be an asshole, but you know perfectly well that as the heir to the Sereitei throne, you have to marry into nobility," said Isshin.

"How could…dad…" said Ichigo speechless and completely outraged.

"I'm sorry son," said Isshin looking down in shame, "I esteem the girl, but it can't be, perhaps if you were an earl, a count even…it would be fine, but one day you will be king, and too much is on the line here."

Ichigo wanted to yell at his father, he wanted to be angry at him, but what he was saying was true. Ichigo knew it from the beginning, he knew what came along with being a noble, especially one like himself, who was destined to be king. Rukia didn't know that, she knew he was a noble, but she did not know he was the king's direct heir, perhaps then she wouldn't have gotten so close to him.

"Can I be her friend?" Ichigo asked his father with a smile, doing his best to keep himself together. It was a necessary question; Ichigo knew he would go insane without her. He needed her now, it was his mistake to allow her to get so close, but he couldn't turn from that now, he needed her near, even if it wasn't as what he hoped.

"Yes, that should be fine."

"Rukia, does she know?"

"Kana will talk to her," said Isshin.

* * *

A/N: So what do you think?


	7. Shirayuki

A/N: Don't kill me! I'm getting back into updating my stories little by little I swear! Anyway, let me know what you think.

* * *

**Two Months Later… **

The glow of dawn began to show itself over the horizon, and Rukia observed it with eagerness, today would be the fourteenth day. He promised he would be back by then. Ichigo Kurosaki had been leaving on frequent trips to Hueco Mundo for the past two months, apparently he and King Aizen Sozuke had become involved in some sort of business. She had questioned Ichigo about it, but his answer every time would be only to smile and say that he would tell her in due time. Today was the first of May, and although summer was close, mornings and nights tended to bring fog.

She sighed to herself as she stood on her tip toes and squinted her eyes as she tried to look through the fog. It was hopeless of course, not only was it foggy, but it was also still dark. The hill she stood on top of provided the best view of the castle, but only a slight outline was visible. She sat back down giving up, she had been here since last night when she sneaked out after making sure Kana was already asleep.

Rukia frowned to herself when she thought about her own actions, there was a flower in her hand, and she brought it to her face to observe it, it was a daisy. After that day over two months ago that she and Ichigo kissed, they both came to the conclusion that it would be best for them to remain only friends.

"Friends," smiled Rukia to herself hopefully, but then her smiled faded. It was easier said than done. Ichigo did not seem to be having such a hard time accepting this though. He had remained his distance, not once getting too close or looking or saying anything inappropriate. Ichigo had kept his promise and was helping her train to become a shinigami. It was so difficult for her to concentrate on her training sometimes, when his body would brush against hers during their sparring. It was difficult to contain the shivers that went down her spine when he smirked and that look of determination burned in his intense amber eyes.

Rukia let herself fall on her behind and wrapped her arms around her knees looking ahead thoughtfully. Why was it so difficult for her to accept that they could not be anything more than friends? Why couldn't she be more like Ichigo and throw her feelings away, why couldn't she keep the past in the past? Why did he make her feel like this…this feeling that was difficult to describe…made her feel…lust? Rukia's cheeks turned red at the realization that she desired her master. It was the first time she felt that way for anyone, the need to feel, touch.

"Rukia!"

Rukia jumped up suddenly, completely startled. She turned to look at the source of the voice immediately and was relieved to see it was only Renji. She sat back down and tried to regain her composure.

"What's up? You look like a kid that just got caught stealing," snickered Renji to himself.

"What are you doing here so early Renji?" Asked Rukia completely evading his question, her face still red.

"Well, I saw you sneak out, and I just had to see where you were going. What are you doing here anyway?" Asked Renji taking a seat next to her; he turned to look at the castle and grinned in realization. "You're waiting for Kurosaki aren't you?"

"W-what? Of course not! That would be silly…and creepy, I'm not a stalker Renji."

"Well you sure have the tendencies of one."

"Go to hell."

"Hmn, seems I've touched a nerve."

"Don't you have better things to do?"

"No, not really, I want to enjoy my stay here, since I have to leave again in two months.""You're so lucky you know, seeing the world," sighed Rukia to herself.

"Why don't you ask Kurosaki if you can come back with us? I'm sure he'd let you leave for a little while; he seems fond of you and all."

"Fond of me?"

"Yeah, if I didn't know any better I'd say he likes you, not like the way you and I like each other, but you know, the other way…" Rukia turned red in the face at this.

"You don't know what you're saying Renji."

"I don't know, I guess it'd be silly though. I mean you are his serf, and well, nobles think different than us normal people, caring more about status and what not."

"Ichigo's not like that."

"Then how do you know he doesn't like you?" Asked Renji grinning at her;.

"It's nothing Renji, really, besides, it could never be," said Rukia.

Renji stood back up and looked into the distance, "well, he's here, I'll leave you to it," he said as he started to walk away.

Rukia turned immediately to look at the castle; there was a carriage riding towards the castle. A huge smile adorned her face and she ran as fast as her feet would allow her to. Renji stood as he watched her leave, a smile on his face.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's nothing," he said, though she was too far from him to hear. The smile disappeared from his face, replaced by a frown.

* * *

"I was beginning to think you would never come back Kurosaki," said Ishida as he walked with Ichigo towards his study.

"Stop your whining, I told you this was important."

"More important than keeping your land affairs in order?"

"Actually Ishida, this contributes to Rukongai, in more ways than you can imagine," said Ichigo with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Well then Kurosaki, enlighten me, what on earth did King Aizen have you do for him that was so important," said Ishida sighing as he leaned back on his chair, crossing his arms.

"We are forming alliances with Spanish colonies to the west."

"What? Are you joining on the search for gold?"

"No, even better, have you ever heard of the Hogyoku?"

"Yes, but what would that be doing in the Americas? It was created here in Soul Society by the Yuki, the elves native to this land before the human takeover."

"As you know, the Yuki had close ties to the Mayas of Central America for centuries; it is suspected that the King of the Yuki entrusted the Hogyoku to the remaining Mayas when he realized he would be losing the war to the humans. It makes perfect sense that it will be there, there is strong evidence that the elves and Mayas worked together to make various magical gems; when you think about it the Hogyoku could be as much Mayan as it is Yuki," said Ichigo.

"And of course, Aizen wants this."

"Well yeah, who wouldn't, it is said to bring unbelievable power, and immortality," said Ichigo.

"I don't know Kurosaki, this could bring a lot of problems. You know very well that the Kuchikis were in search of the Hogyoku eighteen years ago, then that tragedy happened which resulted in a massive war with the House of Kuchiki and Hueco Mundo, you remember any of that?"

"Somewhat, it lasted ten years, I was eleven when it ended. I remember my dad telling me we should be grateful that the House of Shihoin didn't jump in, considering they were allies with the Kuchikis. It was two against one, Sereitei and Hueco Mundo against the Kuchiki kingdom, yet we still couldn't beat them. To bring an end to the war the, King of Hueco Mundo surrendered a massive amount of land to the King of Kuchiki."

"I find it somewhat outraging you know, that King Sano Aizen never admitted to planning the assassination of Prince Kazuka Kuchicki and his wife and two daughters."

"Well, who says he was the one to do it, there was never enough evidence."

"King Sano was obsessed with obtaining Prince Kazuka's wife, it was no secret that Shirayuki was the last of the Yukis; her blood was needed to active the Hogyoku and keep it alive. Few know the story of Shirakuyi, but those of us who know it, know what a tragic one it was."

"Yes, but it's all in the past now, it is unnecessary to let it affect the relationship between the Soul Society Kingdoms."

"Ah, but Ichigo, Shirayuki's legacy will never become an unimportant matter. Even now, if you do find the Hogyoku, it will be useless without Yuki blood to awaken it," said Ishida.

"You were wrong about one thing Ishida," said Ichigo looking at Ishida with a knowing look on his face.

"About what?"

"Four people did not die the night Prince Kazuka and his family were assassinated, they were never able to find the youngest, the baby girl."

"Yes, but finding her Ichigo, will be impossible, no one knows what happened to that child, and she was too young for anyone to have an idea what she would look like now…that is, if she's still alive…"

The falling of a bookshelf distracted them, and they both turned quickly to the window. Rukia sat ungracefully on the floor with an embarrassed look on her face, having had just fallen in through the window and dropping an entire shelf of books.

"Sorry," said Rukia scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

"Rukia-san, nice to see you," said Ishida smiling as Rukia stood up and walked over to them.

"Nice to see you too Ishida-sama," said Rukia bowing a bit.

"Well then, we will continue our conversation another time lord Kurosaki," said Ishida bowing a bit. Before leaving, Ishida signaled to Rukia that the back of her dress was up; Rukia immediately fixed her dress with an embarrassed look on her face.

Ichigo and Rukia stared at each other silently for a while. Rukia's smile faded as she saw him looking at her seriously, almost looking like he was angry with her. She gasped in surprise when she was pushed against the wall and Ichigo wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

"I missed you," he whispered into her shoulder; she wrapped her arms around him as well running a hand through his hair.

"I missed you too."

Ichigo let go of her, as he remained close to her, his amber eyes gazing intently into hers. Feeling sucked in, Rukia leaned forward slightly, her lips reaching for his, but before their lips connected, he pulled away.

"I want to show you something," said Ichigo; Rukia pushed her disappointment aside and walked over to where he was standing by his desk. On top of his desk was a map of central America.

"Are you planning on traveling to the Americas?" She asked a bit disappointed.

"Yes, and you're coming with me," said Ichigo walking over to a chest, searching frantically for something.

"Wait, what? Why?" Asked Rukia surprised.

"Rukia, have you ever heard about the Hogyoku?"

"Yes, but I always though it was myth, along with the story of the Yuki elves-"

"What if I told you it was real?" Said Ichigo taking a large book out of the chest and walking over to her.

"I don't know, I guess that would be very exciting."

"So, do you want to come with me?"

"But me? What do I have to offer? I would probably just get in the way and-"

"It would be a great chance for you to practice your new abilities don't you think?" Said Ichigo looking at her enthusiastically, "besides, you've been wanting to travel, that much is true."

"Well yes but, but Kana would never allow me to."

"I'll talk to her."

"Will we be the only ones going?"

"No, King Aizen is sending some people, and I'm bringing some of my own people along. Don't worry, we'll be safe, a lot of experienced people will be going."

"Can…can Renji come along?"

"Renji? Why him?" Asked Ichigo with a spark of jealousy.

"Well, it's just…I won't know anyone, and I would feel more comfortable if he came along, he's a great fighter too-"

"What? You don't trust me to protect you?" Asked Ichigo wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Of course I do, but, I will need company."

"My company's not enough?" Asked Ichigo pouting; Rukia lifted the corners of his lips up with her fingers so that he was smiling.

"I like your company Ichigo, but Renji's a good friend, and I would feel better if he came."

"I guess," sighed Ichigo, though he didn't look too enthusiastic about it.

"When are we leaving?"

"The day after tomorrow."

* * *

Kana was in back of her garden, the sun was setting, and she had just returned from praying by the shrine. She was walking towards the cabin, when she felt another's presence.

"Can I talk to you? Don't worry, Rukia isn't around yet, and neither is Renji."

"Come," said Kana; she walked inside and left the door open. She went into the kitchen and he followed behind her. They both sat by the table and she served them both some tea.

"What did you want to talk about?" Asked Kana as she took a sip of her tea with her eyes closed.

"I think I have figured it out, why Rukia seems so familiar to me." Kana's eyes widened at this.

"And…what do you think you know?"

"She's that child isn't she? The baby whose body was never found…Shirayuki's daughter."

"Yes," said Kana simply; they were silent for a long time.

"Are you going to tell anyone?"

"No."

"Not even your son?"

"Especially not my son. I'm afraid he is falling under his uncle's influence," said Isshin sighing as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Why wouldn't you? Knowing that it is something that would benefit your son?"

"Because, I knew Shirayuki, my wife used to be very close to her. You see, Masaki grew up with Shirayuki. And she and I both…we witnessed what that poor girl went through, we were there during Hisana's conception, by mistake…we witnessed her brutal rape by that monster."

"Masaki was allowed to visit the prisoners?" Asked Kana confused.

"Well, no, but Masaki was never one to follow the rules; it was actually Masaki and I who helped Shirayuki escape, with baby Hisana in her arms. Of course, you know the rest of the story, she was found by the Kuchiki prince, they fell in love and married, and that's when Rukia was born. Though it wasn't till right now, that I figured out that Rukia was that baby, it was the eyes I suppose, she has Shirayuki's eyes," said Isshin.

"Yes, she does."

"I'm supposing you were already told by Ichigo."

"Yes."

"Will you be allowing her to go?"

"As much as I dislike the idea, there isn't much I can do about it. I've always known I couldn't keep Rukia from her destiny. I can only hope to she, as well as your son, will choose wisely when faced with the decisions they will be facing," said Kana, her nerves making the cup of tea in her hands shake.


End file.
